RATING: 6/10
Must Listens:
TDE veteran’s fifth studio album CrasH Talk, is a solid album to say the least, but does it live up to the wait? Honestly, I don’t think so. I feel as though Q has toned his sound down a bit in exchange for a dull combination of trap and pop. The first two tracks create my first problem with the album, the shortness of the tracks. While I think Gang Gang and Tales is a strong way to open the album, I think they were both cut way too short. I was left wanting more from almost every track, and not in a good way. It was either I wanted more content or I wanted the content to be better. The features of the album are unbelievably underwhelming, starting with Travis Scott’s feature on CHopstix. While I like Q’s verses, the song is so painfully boring and doesn’t seem to work with the chorus and if you’re going to get a Travis Scott feature, I’d expect him to say more than one word.
Other features include 6LACK, Lil Baby, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla $ign and YG. Either ScHoolboy tries to cater too much to the featured artists style with songs like Floating (feat. 21 Savage) or the features are just weak and left me expecting so much more like Drunk (feat. 6LACK). However, Dangerous (feat. Kid Cudi) is still one of my favourite tracks on the project. I think his more introspective songs like that and Black Folk are the highlights of the album and provide some seriously redeeming qualities. Aside from that, 5200 and Numb Numb Juice are also great examples of Q’s talent, showing that he can definitely do more on his own than with features. ScHoolboy Q’s verses throughout are really commendable and his emotions come through each track as he changes flow effortlessly throughout.
Waiting 3 years for CrasH Talk definitely left fans with high expectations coming off the back of the Blank Face LP. Unfortunately the wait was met with what feels like a forced commercial album with really only two songs that will be put in my weekly rotation. While I do commend Q for experimenting with his sound, I’m hoping the criticism he’s received on this album will help him bounce back with another project as strong as his previous ones. Fingers crossed it doesn’t take 3 years either but I do understand that with the passing of Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle, he had to postpone his work to properly cope with the loss of two of his peers.
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Frank Tremain 