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Day One: Big Fish Theory


Ghost

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SEPTEMBER 1
BIG FISH THEORY
VINCE STAPLES


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REVIEW:
Big Fish Theory, the latest LP from California rapper Vince Staples is my first experience with the rapper's work outside of 2015 track "Norf Norf" and his collaboration with Jhené Aiko on 2013's "The Vapors," so while I wasn't nervous, I also didn't know what exactly to expect. Overall, I enjoyed the record, which is an easy listen not surpassing 40 minutes. It certainly has a masterful cohesion to it, and there is a dark, eerie, sometimes gritty, sometimes woozy sound to the production. Unfortunately, however, there were many points throughout the record when there seemed to be a disconnect of sorts between the production and Vince's voice -- both great on their own, but something didn't click when they were put together. Furthermore, many of the tracks had killer verses but were brought down by lackluster hooks, so much so that I found myself waiting during some stretches of the album for a song that I enjoyed in its entirety. Despite its flaws though, Big Fish Theory certainly holds its own as a record thanks to Staples' unabashed lyricism (tackling everything from blackness to poverty to love), which emerges center-stage, even with hit-or-miss features and backing vocals from Kilo Kush, Kendrick Lamar, and others.

RATING:
7/10

HIGHLIGHTS:
BagBak, Big Fish, 745, Party People, Yeah Right

LOWLIGHTS:
Love Can Be..., Homage

WOULD I LISTEN AGAIN?
DEFINITELY NOT          PROBABLY NOT          MAYBE          PROBABLY*          DEFINITELY
*While Big Fish Theory may not be the first thing I turn to when I'm in the mood for an extraordinary hip-hop album, the record does have some very strong tracks. "BagBak," my favorite track, has been on repeat since I first heard it, and songs like "Big Fish" and "745" caught my attention enough for a second listen as well. I also get the sense that this album as a whole has a potential to grow on me, so I may revisit it for that reason, too.

LISTEN IF:
You like darker, moodier hip-hop that feels like a part of a bigger whole and that indulges in politics as much as it indulges in romance.

2 Comments


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cute review! I've been into Vince Staples for a long while and BFT is definitely one of my favorite records this year, though I do agree with your main critiques (some of the hooks being underwhelming to the point that they make the song as a whole seem vapid *cough* Love Can Be..., Samo *cough*)! while I do agree that Homage has a relatively flaccid hook, I do think that the production is incredibly inventive and the verses are enough for the song to hinge on jj2 

what albums are you planning on reviewing next? if you're still here that is wendy2 

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20 hours ago, Hunty Bear said:

cute review! I've been into Vince Staples for a long while and BFT is definitely one of my favorite records this year, though I do agree with your main critiques (some of the hooks being underwhelming to the point that they make the song as a whole seem vapid *cough* Love Can Be..., Samo *cough*)! while I do agree that Homage has a relatively flaccid hook, I do think that the production is incredibly inventive and the verses are enough for the song to hinge on jj2 

what albums are you planning on reviewing next? if you're still here that is wendy2 

i'm doing this alongside a friend (she's picking all the even-day albums) so 9/2 is demi's self-titled album & 9/3 is alvvays's debut album (also self-titled). hoping to get those two up sometime today and still waiting on my friend to lmk what we're listening to for 9/4. glad you liked this though! jj2

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