Amen - Rich Brian Review

Yoo, what's poppin? Hope everyone is doing good. I'm back with another review for y'all.

Amen - Rich Brian

Rich Brian used to go by Rich Chigga. I don't really know why he changed his name, but I don't think that the change is too bad. I've been a fan of his aesthetic ever since he came out with 'Dat $tick'. He has a unique sense of style which makes his music videos very fun to watch. I think that he has an interesting rap style and sound, because he relies more on the strength of his bars than adding autotune and what not.

Amen

This is a wild way to start the album off. It's basically just two straight minutes of him straight rapping. I think that this is a very fun song to listen to, because his wordplay is wild. I think that the last lines of this song are interesting. I can see how he is a big influence for asian teens that aren't the most popular.

Cold

This song is interesting. I like the way that this song starts off. It's reflective and shows emotion, while slowly building up. Then it takes a break and kind of fake you out. The first time I listened to this it caught me off guard. The way the beat just plays at the middle I didn't expect him to pop back in with a very strong verse. All in all, I think that this is a very interesting song.
I like that this song starts out with:

   "Saw a car crash, it remind me of our first date."

I feel like everyone has had a first date like that, so it's relatable.
I also like the line:

    " Calling my dad when I need some wisdom.
      Calling my cab, alcohol up in my system.
      Saw a fist fight and that shit don't even make me scared no more."

First of all, I was just talking about rappers, who have good relationships with their dads with TalkingAboutSinging on twitter. They do this podcast and it's pretty interesting and entertaining. You can check them out @TalkingAboutSinging on twitter.
Secondly, shoutout to Rich Brian for not promoting drinking and driving. We out here not being idiot and killing people or ourselves.
Last but not least, I can relate to that last line. I feel like the first couple times you see people fighting it sketches you out and is a stressful event, but after like the second fight you get desensitized to it.

Occupied

At first I thought it was really funny that he starts this song off by saying: 

    "I don't wear a lot of hats"

I thought that he just meant that he doesn't wear any hats, which I could see, because I don't think I have ever seen him really wear any hats. The more I thought about it though I think that he means that he doesn't really do anything else. He just stays doing what he wants to do and I think that this is a good point that he makes. He doesn't really change his flow up that much or anything. He's not like Drake going from style to style. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. 

I like the beat of this song. I don't think it's too crazy but it fits very well and does a good job rapping over it.

Introvert feat Joji

I like this beat a whole lot, but I'm going to be honest, I don't really like Joji all that much. He's just not my cup of tea. Brian's verses aren't bad, but I just don't really vibe with Joji like that. This might be my least fav song off of this album.

Attention feat Offset

This is a pretty good song. The beat is consistent but bumps. Brian on the chorus isn't bad. The more I listen to it, the more it grows on me This song is just his flex song, but it has this dark vibe to it. Offset has to be the best feature on this entire album. He fits well on this song.

Glow Like Dat

I really enjoy this song. I think that it has a great beat and that he kills it. This song is all about how he had to let this girl go, but is proud of her because of her glow up. He misses her and still thinks about her a lot, but he's happy for her. It's catchy song and I really like it. I think that this song sounds unique, especially since he's the one that's rapping it. After I that 88Rising video of rappers reacting to his first song (Dat $tick) I became a fan of his and thought that he was pretty good, but when he came out with this he completely won me over. It used to be my favorite song by Brian, but it changed.
I think that the reason that I like this song so much is because it's so relatable. I feel like most people have been through stuff like this at least once.

Trespass

This is another song with a dark sound to it. The beat is menacing and fits the title of the song perfectly. This song goes incredibly hard. I enjoyed this song a lot. It kind of stays in your head once you've listened to it a couple times.
This song is all about how he doesn't want the people who interview him to come with stupid questions.

Flight

In this song he talks about how he traveled to America to record his songs with different producers and what not. This song actually brings a central theme of the album to the forefront, which is Brian's (for lack of a better term) obsession with America. I don't mean this in like the creepy way, but he really, really likes America. I can relate to that, when I was younger, I lived with in Germany and always wanted to go there. Now we are out here, living the dream. I misheard a lyric in a later song, and after listening to the album I don't think that this statement is true anymore. He's most def influenced by American culture but that's pretty much it.

I think people kind of sleep on Rich Brian's story telling ability. I think that the does a good job of painting a picture with his words and even his beat choices.

He also talks about how the flight was 20 hours long and I can't even imagine that. I flew to Japan and I don't think it was that long. 20 hours on an airplane sounds horrible, unless you are first class.

See Me

This is a really catchy song with some pretty clever lines.  My favorite line from this song is probably:

    " 20 Mirrors in my crib, I'm hanging with my friends"

He's basically saying that he just has himself, which is kinda sad. But I just want to take this moment for us all to imagine him just actually having 20 mirrors in his house. That would be goofy. 

I also like the lines:

    " I would never quit, I'm too legit.

      Indonesian MC Hammer in this bitch, aye"

What rapper do you know compares themselves to MC Hammer. I feel like not many. (Update: I looked it up and Rick Ross and Miley Cyrus have both compared themselves to MC Hammer in songs.)

All in all this is a nice song with a good beat. I enjoyed it.

Enemies

This song has a strong beat that bumps. I think that this song is pretty good. I feel like this song is kind of different than the other songs because he switches up his flow on the verses. I think it's also pretty interesting that he brings up Air BnBs on this song. He brings them up several times on this album and I think that it's a pretty interesting point to bring up. I feel like when rappers travel we just always assume that they stay in hotels and stuff, even though Air Bnbs can be more cost effective.

When he says that he's repping the "red and white", he's talking about Indonesia. Their flag is red and white. I don't know much about Indonesia, but he talks about having someone killed for a couple hundred bucks. Is that accurate?

This is one of my favorite songs off of this album.

Kitty

This song has me conflicted. One of the reasons I don't like J. Cole is because he has a song talking about how he lost his virginity. All these people say the song is great and whatnot, but I think it's very weird to have a song like that. Now Brian has a song like that. I had to listen to the J.Cole song again to see what made Brian's song different to me. J. Cole's song is oddly specific and just all around a shitty song. He talks about watching porn to get his stroke right and stuff like that. He also talks about how he practiced taking the condom out and whatnot. It's just weird. 

Brian's is pretty much the same, just it's not as detailed and ends with a funny note. All in all I wish I hadn't listened to that J.Cole song again and I'm kind of peeved that I did. 

Brian if you are reading this, you owe me for making me go through that.

Little Prince feat NIKI

I like the feature on this song. She has a nice voice and fits well. I really like the way that this song sounds. It has this dreamlike beat to it and his verses are very solid. This song has a different feel than his other stuff and I like that.

Chaos

This is my favorite Rich Brian song. I really like the beat and his flow on this song.
He made this song in celebration of him turning 18 and he just snaps on it. I think he has some of his cleanest verses on this song and that it might be his most interesting song.
A big thing people like to say is that he sounds apathetic and is bland. I think that this song proves them wrong.
The music video only adds to the experience of the song so I think that it's worth the watch.

Arizona feat AUGUST 08

Ok, first of all what's up with all these featured artists having their names capitalized? Y'all need to stop that. This is still a very good feature as the name has very little to do with the ability someone has. 

I like this beat so much. The piano is amazing and it just sounds so uplifting. 

This is another one of my favorite Rich Brian songs. He kills it. He has these calm verses mixed with parts where he just kind of snaps. 

His third verse is kind of crazy. The beat changes and he just goes in.

I think that this song isn't about Arizona, but is about his career taking off and how things are going to change after this album. 

I think that he is right with that, because he made history as the first Asian-American to have the #1 album on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts. That might not sound too impressive but he pulled ahead of a bunch bigger names, such as Kendrick and the Migos. I just looked it up and he's sitting at #7 right now. The Migos are at #1 so that just shows that people have no idea what they are talking about. 

All in all I think that this is a great way to end the album.

Verdict

I really enjoyed this album. I think it is put together very well and is an interesting piece of work. 

I think that people said he was bland and apathetic after they heard 'Dat $tick' but didn't take the time to listen to his other stuff. This album proves that he has range and isn't bland.

I also think that his fashion sense is wild which adds to his character. 

While this album had some interesting stuff on it, it also had some low points so it isn't perfect. But then again what is? I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't put his song with 21 Savage or '18' on this album. I think that they are pretty solid songs.
I think that this was a very strong debut project and am excited to see what Brian brings in the future.

I'm gonna give this album an 8.5/10.