Bas | ‘We Only Talk About Real Sh-t When We’re F-cked Up’ Album Review

Journey has all the time been a central theme in Bas‘ music. Whether or not he’s up within the air on tracks like “Charles De Gaulle to JFK” or “Clouds By no means Get Outdated,” or he’s taking a visit to the Milky Approach on his third album, the Sudanese-American rapper is all the time up for taking his present on the highway, actually.

Born in Paris, the place he spent a part of his childhood earlier than shifting to Queens on the age of eight, it’s pure that Bas isn’t certain by nationwide borders. The 5 years between his final launch and his newest album, We Solely Discuss About Actual Shit When We’re Fucked Up, has allowed him to gather extra passport stamps – the album consists of collaborations with artists from France, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria, and the UK.

The journey begins nearer to house, although. On album opener “Gentle of My Soul,” Bas appears like he’s been going by some issues: “I bought an issue makin’ different folks’s issues my very own … Fortunate I’m constructed with shoulders large enough to hold the load,” he spits over a haunting Motown pattern that appears like a ghost from his previous, in addition to Boi-1da‘s hard-hitting drums.

Subsequent up is a three-track suite that would so simply match on any latest Dreamville launch. “Residence Alone” is the spotlight of the batch and is one other milestone in J. Cole‘s 12 months of the Characteristic, because the Dreamville head honcho steals the present with detailed storytelling and a hypnotic, indifferent circulation. Bas lands just a few punches of his personal with rhymes like: “It ain’t all Black and white like a Kurosawa/ Bought the cash and fame, however we took the facility/ Spent all of it, made it again, blew 1,000,000 {dollars},” nevertheless it’s onerous for him to get from underneath his mentor’s shadow on this event.

“Threat” is when issues start to open up. Launched in 2019, the monitor finds Bas poetically lamenting a misplaced love: “I can recall when your lips/ Used to contort into smiles/ Brilliant because the solar that’s drawn an eclipse.” French producer FKJ provides a subdued beat filled with blips and chirps for Bas to flex his improved singing voice, which received’t blow anybody away however sits nicely throughout the slice of brilliant manufacturing.

Tracks like “Ho Chi Minh” and the Amaarae-aissisted “First rate” proceed Bas’ earlier flirtation with afrobeats. The previous options a few of the greatest easy rapping on the mission, as Bas makes use of a visceral metaphor to color an image of drug-induced isolation – “‘Trigger they love me, I’m Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam/ Look, I’m in management, napalm in my soul/ I bomb let it burn, how lengthy ’til my flip come?”

The apotheosis of Bas’ world outlook comes on “179 Deli” that includes UK rapper AJ Tracey. Supported by Lydia Kitto‘s breathy background vocals, Bas confidently employs an infectious double-time circulation over a skittish UK garage-influenced instrumental. His lyrics not often delve past serviceable one-liners and surface-level observations, however his breathless circulation and rhythmic sense pair nicely with the murky, rain-slicked beat.

Whereas Bas’ dedication to modify up his sound is admirable, it’s not all the time profitable. “Passport Bros” is a catchy however generic ‘I can take you there’ track on which Cole and Bas sound very blasé about their debauchery. Then diving head first into amapiano on “Testify” and “U-Flip,” neither monitor gathers sufficient steam to energy by Bas’ sleepy singing and insipid lyrics.

Because the title implies, We Solely Discuss About Actual Shit When We’re Fucked Up attracts a direct line between loosening up and opening up – Bas stares instantly and truthfully on the reflection within the backside of a glass of Clase Azul. “If love is all you want then let me spend my ache,” he spits on the reflective “Diamonds.” However apart from flashes of retrospection and perception, the album not often delves too deep into the “actual shit.”

The penultimate monitor, “Khartoum,” is when Bas comes closest to expounding upon the load he hinted at carrying on the opening quantity. Tackling Sudan’s 2023 civil conflict, Bas makes a nationwide tragedy private, rapping: “5 days trackin’ by the desert, cuzzo swore his distress/ Auntie made it three days ‘fore she handed, he spoke it by his tears to me.”

With a label as stacked as Dreamville, it may be onerous to face out, contemplating the sizable footprint of Cole and the latest ascension of JID, EarthGang and Ari Lennox. Bas is the label’s second official signee, although his title is commonly introduced up after the roster’s newer expertise. Whereas We Solely Discuss About Actual Shit When We’re Fucked Up won’t change this equation utterly, Bas has crafted an pleasing set of genre-spanning tunes that run the gamut between turning up and searching inward.

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2023

RECORD LABEL: Dreamville/Interscope

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