What do you get when you mix some of today's biggest producers with a talented young emcee from Compton? Well, you get a Kendrick Lamar album. However, if said rapper has a lisp, then you may just be listening to the next big thing in hip-hop; Boogie.
His sophomore mixtape titled The Reach released June 24th, and the project is laced with wonderful rhymes and very solid production. Not only that, but Boogie is an interesting artist to listen to, because his sound is commercial at times, while his subject matter is anything but. He speaks about real world issues and his point of view on many serious subjects differs from many of his colleges in the hip-hop industry.
Keeping with the analysis of lyrics found in The Reach, it is worth noting that Boogie includes his son in quite a lot of his rhymes, and believe me, it's quite refreshing to hear a rapper be so proud of being a father, and speak so much about his kid within his raps. In terms of Boogie's delivery and flow, he is as good as any. He raps with a subtle aggression that may go unnoticed at the first listen, but the more you hear of this guy, the more you are enchanted by his style of emceeing. As stated previously, Boogie does have a bit of a lisp, which doesn't hinder the listening experience by any means, rather, it just makes his voice stand out amongst the thousands of other rappers in the world.
When speaking on the album's best song, you have to decipher what kind of hip-hop you're in the mood for. If you want to hear some uptempo rap with a commercial beat, then the logical choice would be the track "Oh My" which features a simple yet catchy hook, and is perfect for any "turn up" moments. Though, if you're looking for something deeper, then you have eleven songs to choose from. That being said, the song "Further" stands alone as one of the best lyrical tracks of 2015. Boogie's insight on a recurring theme in today's news media, race, is superb, and the track is much deeper than that, as Boogie really goes into some wonderful and educated social commentary.
The vocal content on The Reach is as good as it gets, and for the most part, the production is too. The mood throughout the entire album is a somewhat sullen feel that is matched only by the variant mood of Boogie himself. That being said, the quality of the beats used on this project give The Reach the sound of a full-length album rather than a mixtape.
The beats have an array of influences, though, even though they come from a few different producers, the instrumental's cohesive sound make this album that much better. The only fault with this project in terms of its production work, is the placement of certain songs. This is only a problem towards the beginning of the project, while everything tends to even out and run much more smoother on the back half of the tape. Though, it is worth noting that the first few tracks run a bit choppy as opposed to others.
All in all, there are very minimal flaws on The Reach. This project has commercial appeal with secular subject matter, making it very versatile and universal. Boogie is one hell of an emcee and his ability to convey his message in such creative ways is exactly what will make him the next big name in hip-hop. Is The Reach a perfect ten out of ten? Not quite. Though, on its worst day, it's an eight out of ten, and in the grand scheme of things, that's pretty freaking good. Go ahead and get on Boogie's bandwagon now, because it is sure to fill up quick.
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