Recently Brandon Smith, whom you may remember from Peru, released his second album entitled
Life Gets Better. The second album is
often cursed with the superstition of the sophomore slump. The artist has
managed to create a fan base but is still eager to expand and try new music.
Some listeners expect an artist to grow and try new things, while others expect
them to stick to the things that made them fans to begin with. New listeners
either respond negatively due to the hype or positively. However, recently the
sophomore slump has been proven to be more of a superstition than a curse. With
artist like J. Cole and Drake demolishing the sales of their first albums with
the second. The question comes to mind, is Brandon Smith cursed with the
sophomore slump or is it just a superstition for him to prove false?
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Let’s take a quick look back at Peru. Peru demonstrated
to us that Brandon Smith was what we like to call a conscious artist. He
doesn’t shy away from topics of race, religion or anything else. In a sense he
gives a voice to many voiceless teenagers. With Life Gets Better Smith continues that role. His lyrics are still
full of civil rights but he’s expanded his list of topics. Moving past just
civil rights Smith allows us into his life by touching on family relationships
as well as his personal emotions demonstrating his growth as an artist.
Life Gets Better demonstrates growth, but this may be a case
of one step forward and two steps back. While Smith has made great leaps in
some aspects some may have faced a regression. The key problem with Life Gets
Better is that it clashes in some situations. For example, transitioning from a
track like “Without You” that can be considered alternative hip hop to “Lo Que
Sera Sera” makes it somewhat uncomfortable. This could have been fixed with a
simple reorganization of the tracks. It’s not that they’re bad, they just don’t
fit into certain locations.
But it’s not just organization that clashes. While it’s good
to see Smith reach out to more artists for collaborations, some just don’t fit
the vibe of the album. While Aaron Tyzin comes in and drops an incredible verse
other features like L$D The God provide verses that leave you wondering “What
does that have to do with anything?”
The last issue is one that many artists are falling into
over the past year. Transitions on albums are key in moving along the
narrative. Interludes give you a moment to reflect on what you’ve just heard
before moving on. The trap here is that it’s easy to simply add a clip from a
tv show, radio interview etcetera. People often forget the importance of skits.
Whether it’s something serious like Kendrick Lamar, comedic like J. Cole or a
combination of both like Y.G. they can be fundamental. It’s also not necessary to
add one behind almost every track. Interludes are great to help move along an
album but when nine out of eleven tracks have some sort of interlude afterwards
it’s just over kill.
While he may have taken a step back in some areas Smith has
remained consistent in areas that he exceled at. While the organization may be
off and the features may be questionable in some areas it’s obvious that he’s
still able to create a theme for an album and stick to it throughout. While Peru was obviously civil rights the
theme of Life Gets Better is
relationships with family, friends and depression.
Lyrically Smith hasn’t taken any steps forward or backwards.
One place he did take step forward is in his flow. On Peru there were places where Smith would either start to run out of
breath towards the end of verses that he would use a faster flow on. That
problem is now gone, so he no longer starts to trail off.
My least favorite track on the album is “Without You.” I don’t
hate the track, don’t even dislike it. It’s a great single. The problem is
there’s not really a reason for it to be there. It just doesn’t fit the album
at all. I’d like to suggest a different place for it but I can’t really think
of one. It’s sort of just there. Again, it’s not a bad track. It just leaves
you scratching your head and wondering why.
Hands down my favorite track is “Someday My Peace Will Come”
followed by “1985” and “Am I Real.” Those three tracks combined are able to sum
up the themes of the album easily. “Am I Real” covers the questioning of who he
is. “Someday My Peace Will Come” Covers the depression and relationship with
his girlfriend. “1985” covers his relationship with family, specifically his
father in this case.
- Lyricism- 9
- Flow-9
- Production-8
- Theme-10
- Replayability- 9
- Individuality- 10
You can find Brandon Smith on SoundCloud and Twitter
Follow @EugeneSmith97
You can hear me try to be funny on the CP Time Podcast or find me on Twitter
You can hear me try to be funny on the CP Time Podcast or find me on Twitter
