8.7/10
Favorite Track: "Kids" Least Favorite Track: "Confetti"
Rich Brian's new full length project; The Sailor, is in a completely different lane then to his 2018 effort; Amen. Looking at the two projects from a sonic standpoint they are in different worlds. His last effort was face value, shallow, and lyrically incompetant, while this album is it’s polar opposite. The depth of the sounds on this thing speak for themselves. As far as the rapping goes, there are a few lyrical blunders but, it’s a monumental improvement from Amen. Being picky about every single lyric on this thing would be a little unfair considering English isn’t even Brian’s first language. The flows we get on here are also are much improved. Brian rides his pocket extremely well throughout the whole project. There really is only one track on this thing that I don't enjoy to some degree and that's the midway point in “Confetti”. The song just feels like everything surface level that I hated about his last LP, with its boring hook, and bland trap production. However, for the most part this project gives us a much better idea of who Brian really is. Who he is as a man, an immigrant, and most importantly, as an artist. In terms of the production on this thing… my god. Bekon and The Donuts did an unreal job. The LP sounds gorgeous through and through. This amazing production is a huge part of why some tracks on this thing show true flashes of greatness. One is “Drive Safe” which is a dead ringer for a Kevin Abstract track with an updated vibe from Brian. The somber minor chords on the beat are so cinematic. This is also one of the tracks where we see just how much Brian has improved vocally. The track list is in simple words; just really good. Sometimes this guy seems so self aware on this LP that it’s hard to believe that he hasn’t hit the mainstream yet. I really really enjoy this new Rich Brian project. This kid’s ability to make you feel through his immersive production, relatability, and cinematic style is super unique. In just a year he went from a meme to a genre-defying, groundbreaking, lyricist who isn’t even writing lyrics in his first language. If he did that in a years time, I can't wait to see what he can do in another one.