No Pressure: Logic Review
Image Courtesy of TheBlast.com
By Katie Van Lew
In a Tweet released on July 16, rapper Logic announced his retirement from the music industry.
Logic wrote, “Officially announcing my retirement with the release of ‘No Pressure’ executive produced by No I.D. July 24th… It’s been a great decade. Now it’s time to be a great father.”
Logic first emerged with his first mixtape Young, Broke, and Infamous at the beginning of the decade. Over the past ten years, Logic has created an impressive amount of content, cultivating six studio albums and six mixtapes. In addition to his music career, Logic has written his own novel, Supermarket, as well as creating a soundtrack that accompanies the book. Supermarket went on to become a New York Times bestseller, dethroning A.J. Finns’ Woman in the Window after being the New York Times Best Seller for three consecutive weeks.
Logic, the self-proclaimed Frank Sinatra of rap, embodies a different persona in No Pressure. In past albums like his Bobby Tarantino series, Logic had embodied different alter-egos and personas to create new music. In his final album, Logic breaks free from the personas presented in past albums, and finally presents himself as Sir Robert Bryson Hall II.
The album is equally a sequel, and reminiscent of his first studio album: Under Pressure.
In “No Pressure Intro,” the song begins with a snippet from Orson Welles 1942 radio show, “Hitchhiker.” Welles finishes the introduction to the album saying, “A story doesn’t have to appeal to the heart, it can also appeal to the spine. And with two magic words…”
Logic begins his first verse on the album, in continuation with the Welles introduction, belting out, “No pressure.” The introduction, a mashup between the Welles snippet with Logic cutting in to add his own words, is a perfect example of Logic’s artistry. Logic’s music is curated by his many influences and sampling of other artists’ work. Logic lets loose on his first song, belting out lyrics over lo-fi instrumentals.
In “GP4,” Logic concludes the fourth installment of his “Growing Pains” series. Logic pays homage to OutKast, sampling “Elevators (Me & You)” on his chorus. Logic reminisces about his struggles growing up in Maryland, using intentional lyrics to express his own tumultuous experiences growing up. His lyrics translate to current times, as he speaks of his experiences with police brutality and injustices faced in his community.
“Celebration,” is chaotic in terms of the instrumentals used. This song is a mashup of different beats and instrumentals, which makes the song overwhelming. At times, the sound distracts from as well as overpowers Logic’s lyrics. The song feels carefree as if he is freestyling rather than producing intentional lyrics. Logic’s protege, Silas, raps on the song with him, which is fitting because Logic helped open the door to the music industry for Silas. Now, the two rap about celebrating the legacy that Logic has cultivated.
“Open Mic\\Aquarius III” is arguably Logic’s best song on the album. His vision for No Pressure is to transcend the critics and write his own story through his lyrics. Logic expresses, “This is poetic conviction, my rendition is not meant from your diction.” Logic ignores the backlash from critics and delivers sophisticated wordplay that expresses his own story. Logic’s lyricism not only expresses his hopes and dreams but the importance of giving up rap to become a good father to his son.
In “A2Z,” Logic entices listeners by his clever wordplay, by essentially teaching his son how to rap the alphabet.
At the end of the album, fans are left to mourn Logic’s retirement with songs “Amen” and “Obediently Yours.” In “Amen” Logic solidifies the end of his era with, “This right here for anyone who ride with me// Heard me laugh, watch me cry, did time with me.” Over the course of ten years, Logic has had his fair share of highs and lows. “Amen” is for the fans that remained loyal to Logic, watching him overcome the dark moments in his career and evolve not only as an artist, but as a person. In No Pressure, Logic demonstrates his talents as he is able to rap over any beat or instrumental. Free-flowing and charismatic, Logic comes fully into himself in his final album. Breaking the chains of criticism and speculation, Logic is able to deliver a proper goodbye to his loyal fanbase. His music told his own story; a story that was inclusive of all people and their own struggles. The album demonstrates his wit and undeniable talent, in order to part the music industry with a lasting legacy. No Pressure is Logic in his most authentic and unapologetic form.
