Album Review: Brandon Smith - Africa (Black Boy, To A Black Man)

If you've been following Blerds Online for a while you should probably be familiar with Brandon Smith by now. He's an 18 year old rapper from Dallas, Texas who recently started attending Texas State University. In addition to that he also writes for Affinity Magazine. More importantly to this review, he's one of our favorite rappers. Previously he's released two albums, the first being Peru and the second being Life Get's Better. Recently he released his third album Africa: Black Boy, to a Black Man. The album comes in at nine tracks with the only features being Muzzy Legault and ThatKidCam. In contrast to previous albums Smith collaborates with or uses tracks from several other producers: KA YU, blackyouth, dream child, LUXURY and Madbliss.

Admittedly I was thrown for a loop when I first started listening to the album. I was thrown for a loop. Pro-Black is a term that's been thrown around a lot but by any definition, Smith's music has been pro-black. To quote BIG, it seemed like "money, cash, hoes, all a nigga knows." From listening to other albums I know that just isn't true.

The album is subtitled Black Boy, to a Black Man and that's a theme that becomes more evident as the album plays through. It makes sense that a boy would be concerned with getting high, side chicks and stunting at the thrift store. More or less it's the same thing we're all motivated by at that age more or less.

As the album continues the music evolves. The track "Graduation" is a clear split in the album. Marking the large difference between tracks 1-4 and 5-9. It's almost as if it's two short EPs. That's not a bad thing. It helps to give the impression of evolution as a person that's required for this album's concept.

The second half is what I initially expected from the album. Smith speaks openly about the issues facing black people in America. Specifically the things he's come to witness and understand as a black man. Things like the death of Eric Garner are key subjects in the second half of the album.

There's a few changes in the production style which can be contributed to collaborations with such a diverse range of producers. The biggest difference would be the sampling. In the past samples had been used sporadically however this album is full of them pulled from a wide range of genres. Two things you'll hear less of on this album are singing and spoken word. Again, it makes sense. The album is about Smith's evolution from boy to a man and he's not a singer. He's a rapper. It makes sense that he would tell his own story with his own voice.

The only track that I feel sags a little is "Heart of The City." It's likely there's no fault of Smith's in my dislike of the track. There's only so many times you can hear the Bobby "Blue" Bland sample before all of the tracks start to sound the same. Since 2001 it just seems like 50% of rappers have to do it. Eventually they all start to sound the same. Again, that's no fault of Smith's, it's just a sample that's been over saturated after 14 years.

My favorite track on the album is "Rip Eric Garner." It's a depressing track without doubt, but it's a great track. In addition to open honesty, rage and sadness there are clips of Eric Garner's death spliced in. It's a track that sort of just pulls you in and displays Smith's talent as well.

• Lyricism-10
• Flow-9
• Production-9
• Theme-10
• Replayability- 9
• Individuality- 10

The final score comes out to 9.5/10. Admittedly I don't know how accurate that is. It's why I don't put a lot of weight in scores. The issue with rating Smith is his albums remain fresh in your head long after they've been released. It's hard to rate Africa because you're comparing it to Life Get's Better because it's still fresh in your head. But, you're subconsciously comparing it to Peru. You know it's good but you can't really decide if it's better or not. With Brandon Smith it all comes down to personal preference.

Africa is available in a lot of places. You can stream it on Apple Music and Spotify. It's also available for purchase on iTunes and Google Play.

You can also keep up with Brandon Smith on SoundCloud and Twitter
Follow @brandnsmith


You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD