On his latest album, Logic goes back to his roots both as an artist and man. In his Logic x College Park album review, SHIFTER editor Kevin Bourne, aka KB The Boss, says this project is “a reminder of what hip-hop is supposed to be”.
It feels like just the other day that Maryland lyricist, Logic, announced his retirement from music. He eventually returned with Bobby Tarantino III in 2021 followed by his seventh album, Vinyl Days, in 2022. Now he’s back with his latest project College Park, a collection of timeless songs that transport listeners back to the Golden Era of hip-hop with boom bap sounds and crazy flows that create a feeling of nostalgia and longing for true hip-hop fans.
What first standouts about the project are its features, including hip-hop legends like RZA, Bun B, and Redman. Sprinkled throughout the project are fellow DMV rappers Big Lenbo, Fat Trel, ADÉ and his former Visionary Music Group label mate C Dot Castro (more on than later). There are also some unexpected features in Norah Jones and Seth MacFarlane which at first glance may leave you scratching your head, thinking this must be some gimmicky commercial sounding bullshit that would make true hip-hop heads’ ears bleed. Not so.
The second thing you notice is the instrumentation on the album. There’s the piano and guitar on “Lightsabers”, there’s the piano again on the 90’s Bay Area sounding track “Redpill”, there’s the saxophone and strings on “Insipio”, there’s some electric guitar and bass on “Paradise II” and the smooth drum patterns on “Lightyear”. The instruments on the album add a sense of depth, quality and timelessness that you don’t often hear in modern hip-hop.
The third thing you notice is the classic hip-hop sound. Aside from the aforementioned Pharcyde-esque “Redpill”, there’s the boom bap infused “Self medication”. There’s also the Tribe Called Quest sounding “Clone Wars II” that may leave you on the edge of your seat waiting for Q-tip to jump on the beat.
The other thing you notice about this album is the number of skits, which is unfortunately a lost art in hip-hop. Gone are the days when Wu-tang Clan and Snoop Dogg broke up their albums which comedic skits that left you entertained while reinforcing the theme of the album and letting you even further into the mind of the artist. On College Park, Logic brings us back to that era, adding to the sense of nostalgia on the album.
The standout tracks include “Shimmy” which features Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ over the “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” sample, ODB references and all; “Paradise II” featuring Nora Jones whose soulful vocals fit Logic’s Eminem-like “Renegade” flow like a glove; “Insipio”, whose second half is easily among the best production on the album (the only problem is we’re given a monologue over that beat instead of more bars from Logic). Finally, there’s the closing track “Lightyear” where Logic unpacks what the whole album is about.
After talking about why he went mainstream with his music―to bring his message to as many people as possible―he raps “It took a lightyear to find myself again”. This is the album in a nutshell. The heavy DMV features, reconnecting with C Dot Castro, the album name College Park, track names like “Gaithersburg” and “38.9897 N 76.9378 W” which are the College Park coordinates on the map, the features with artists like RZA, Redman and Bun B, the lack of mainstream sounding tracks, and the overall nostalgic sound of the album are all about Logic finding himself again. To drive this home, in the final skit, he brings us back to 2011 in the DMV as he relives the time before his rise to fame when he wasn’t exactly sure his rap dream would pan out. This clearly is a man who needed to go back to his roots and reconnect with who he really is.
Overall, this album is a reminder of what hip-hop is supposed to be. It’s a very laid back and mellow album, and a very well-thought out album, with a theme that he built around. From the skits to the sound and features, there’s an underlying story being told. If you’re looking for big commercial radio hits, this isn’t the album for you. If you’re looking for timeless music and an album that you can just play from beginning to end as you contemplate your own life’sjourney, then you’ll want to check it out.
Even if you’re someone like me who was never a big Logic fan and has never listened to a full Logic project before, at the very least you will grow to respect his craft, if not become a fan. I did.
Head over to your favourite streaming platform, check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.
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