Like most honest bloggers that don't live in Logic's hometown of Gaithersburg, Maryland, I had never heard of this guy until his 2011 mixtape, Young Sinatra, started accumulating attention across the blogosphere. And just like most people, my initial impression was to believe that he was "all right". I was surprised to learn later that Logic has actually been rapping since the age of 13. I just assumed he was created in some studio out of some spare parts that Kendrick and Lupe had abandoned. Apparently, though, he's had more than a decade to shape his rapping ability.
Under Pressure, a title that I assume refers to his increased expectations due to him signing to Def Jam, and having his fanbase steadily increase (or its just paying homage to the Queen and David Bowie song of the same name; it doesn't really make a difference to me), is Logic's debut album that just happens to be on a major label. Despite the larger profile, though, Logic has elected to not include any guest appearances (on the standard addition; the deluxe features an awful verse from Big Sean), which, as you all know, gains his points in my eyes.
For obvious reasons, and not just because Def Jam remains one of the world's biggest labels despite it sucking over the past few years, Under Pressure was given more of a budget, so Logic was able to branch out and grab a handful of new producers. That's certainly promising considering his past mixtapes have featured many of the same in house producers handling a good majority of the tracks. Which you would think helped with lending those projects a consistent sound overall, but nah.
I don't recall how exactly I ended with his mixtapes on my hard-drive, but I assume it has something to do with the alternative being Lloyd Banks or something. However, I don't remember much about any of them, so this write-up should be interesting. I do remember, however, that in March of 2013 I found myself in the position of having to inadvertently sit in a car for over two hundred miles. Luckily, to help pass the time, and to help be avoid counting tumbleweeds and stopping at every single gas station that also had multiple restaurants inside (I love that part when it comes to road trips!), I had my iPod, and I had purposefully loaded it with some projects I hadn't actually listened to yet. The first one I threw on was Logic's Young Sinatra: Undeniable, which was his third official mixtape. I thought the whole "Young Sinatra" title thing was pretty stupid but I've since gotten over that. However, throughout the 22 tracks, I found my attention drifting into the horizon; it was that boring. What that means for Under Pressure, I don't know yet, but we'll see.
1. Intro
I tend not to trust rap albums that begin with the rapper basically saying "oh, I'm just fucking around, don't mind me". The children cheering at the end also serves as a great companion to the fuckery at the beginning, making this one of the stupidest intros I've heard all year. Logic does the whole inspirational rapping/singing thing in the middle, but none of it is good enough for me to care. This does not bode well.
2. Soul Food
This is much better. The first beat is kinda dull, but Logic is able to flex his lyrical abilities, and once the beat switches, the whole song clicks. Before I go any further, though, I have to bring up the Thalia character. I can look past the whole "wearing your influences on your sleeve" thing, but I have a hard time dealing with Logic basically stealing the Midnight Marauder Tour Guide, and re-naming it. Now, I'm not claiming that Logic is trying to pull a fast one on us, its way too blatant for that, but he better do it justice. Still, this was pretty good.
3. Gone
Sounds like it could be found on the deluxe Japanese package of good kid, m.A.A.d. city. In other words, it sounds like a throw away. Not even an original throwaway, but a Kendrick Lamar throwaway. Considering how bad some of the bonus songs on GKMC were (admit it, he saved all the good shit for the real album), its safe to say that I'll probably never listen to this song again.
4. Gang Related
The first really good song on Under Pressure. Truthfully, I've been going back to this quite a bit ever since I started listening to this album. There's something about Logic's aggressive flow mixed with a KRS-One vocal sample that just works. The beat is pretty calm, but in a good way; I'm not talking laying on a beach or having a three-way calm, but it's relaxing nonetheless. Its obvious Logic is striving for lyrical substance, hoping to stand the test of time amid the sea of bullshit that people seem to like these days. Thankfully, it works here.
5. Buried Alive
For a single that makes an effort to be creative by comparing a career in rap to being buried alive, its rather surprising that all I got from this was a meh. I know, right? So early in the review, a meh? But its true!
6. Bounce
Logic delivers a pretty terrible hook, but not even that is enough to ruin the great instrumental provided by S1 and M-Phazes. Vocally, Logic sounds very nice on here, but that damn beat is the only thing I really care to hear. I've never heard of either of those producers, but maybe they should get their asses in the studio with Logic more often. Unfortunately, the bootleg Midnight Marauder Tour Guide voice is getting even more pointless. Seriously dude, I don't fucking care that you recorded in No I.D.'s studio.
7. Growing Pains III
This sounds like something Blu would have made when he was super interested in relating with his listeners. Logic puts his own spin on it, though, and I love that Blu, so this makes for one of the better songs on the album. For what its worth, Logic doesn't spend an extended amount of time rapping about the hardships of growing up in a rough area (well, not as much as almost every other rapper ever), so whenever he does, its interesting enough for me to pay attention. The horn at the end was a nice touch as well.
8. Never Enough
Not great, but not awful. Sorry, but that's all I got.
9. Metropolis
Oh, come on. You're seriously going use the same sample from Kendrick's "Sing About Me"? That's just mocking us. The robotic voice said A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, and Tarantino movies were in constant rotation throughout the recording process, but it's not going to say good kid, m.A.A.d. city? Get the entire fuck out of here. Logic sounds weak on here, too, which makes for one of the worst combinations on the album. Ugh, this one couldn't have ended soon enough.
10. Nikki
This type of rap song has been done many times before, by much better artists (Common comes to mind). Still, there's a certain novelty to these extended metaphorical songs that never wear off. The whole "holy shit, he's talking about nicotine, not a girl!" feeling is always fun at first. It also helps that I legitimately didn't realize he was talking about nicotine until he blatantly said it, which was stupid of me, considering its pretty obvious when I look back upon it. I still have to give Logic props, though. The instrumental is also great, gradually rising in intensity when necessary. Good shit.
11. Under Pressure
Released as the first single, Logic made the smart choice of delivering the public one of the best songs of the album first. Logic is rapping as well as he ever has, and the self produced instrumental is fucking fantastic. But that's only the first half of the song. In almost hilarious fashion, Logic used the exact same format Kendrick used for, yes, "Sing for Me, I'm Dying of Thirst". I guess this is his way of basically taking the comparisons and...I don't even know. No clue what he was going for here, but in reality, he kinda does the song justice. Impossible to call to his a completely original song, but it's still worth a listen.
12. Till the End
The beat tries a little too hard to sound triumphant, but Logic's outro is a hell of a lot better than the intro. Logic's final verse really is one of the best of the album, so I'm able to overlook the minor levels corniness. The whole singing part is entirely forgettable, but with that being the case, I'll forget about it in a few minutes, so there's no reason for me to be upset. Pretty good way to close the show.
Rating: 3/5
Under Pressure is built around Logic's admittedly above-average rhyme skills and instrumentals that rely on heavy bass and synths, but contain the occasional random instrument, such as a piano or guitar. Its a solid set of beats that complement Logic's style nicely. The thing is, Logic doesn't really have a distinct style. He contains elements of Kendrick, Drake, and Lupe, but fails to bring out the best in any of them. At this point, I have no idea what a "Logic Song" sounds like. At times, this isn't an issue. On album highlights such as "Gang Related", "Growing Pains III" and the title track, his songwriting is good enough to keep the song afloat. More often than not, though, these songs range from cheesy ("Intro", "Till the End") to incredibly mediocre ("Buried Alive", "Never Enough"). On a good majority of the album, Logic seems more interested in putting in his two cents on modern trends than making music that'll stand the test of time. It's also really damaging that his hook-writing is rather bad, which keeps any of this from being too catchy. For a debut, its fine, and it's not like Logic is that far from being really good, but Under Pressure contains way too many errors for me to give a recommendation. But maybe the next go round will be better for Logic; he just needs to learn how not rip off his peers, and write a hook that, you know, doesn't suck balls.