From Sinatra to Tarantino: The Desecration of Logic

When Logic opens his album (or mixtape, I can’t tell the difference anymore) with a Ricky and Morty skit, it’s apparent that he’s only gonna cater to his die-hard fanbase at this point. While I always prefer risks, I can’t say there’s anything wrong with appealing to your core audience. Yet, as his career continues and audience widens, his music is continuously decreasing.

Bobby Tarantino II is by far Logic’s worse project, but that’s not even to say the project is bad. The Maryland rapper will always give us bars, and he will still give us some great tracks. I highly doubt we’ll ever get a Logic album that’s entirely a flop. Nonetheless since his debut, Under Pressure, It feels like Logic’s music has been nosediving into mediocrity. While his albums have all been daring, with concepts and lyrical substance, nothing has stuck with me like Under Pressure. The Incredible True Story was very forgettable, and Everybody had some high points, but also a couple of low ones. The album also gravitates towards Logic going more pop, and that was proven with the “Suicide Awareness” song, which showed Logic can go pop. Yet, at the end of the day, Under Pressure remains his best album.

Despite its problems, Bobby Tarantino has its moments, and it’s the only other Logic project I return to. The genius behind Under Pressure comes from Logic’s love of hip-hop and ability to formulate great stories while showing lyrical excellence.”Gang Related” is probably one of Logic’s best tracks, and he proves his diversity with tracks like “Nikki” and”Soul Food.” What was so appealing about Bobby Tarantino is its short but, fun tracks. “Super Mario” and “Flexecution” are some of his most fun songs to date. Logic also continues to prove he’s a lyricist with the iconic “44 Bars.” So, when “44 More” dropped, I got excited. I thought, wow, he’s gonna give us another fun project that sticks to his strengths, but that just wasn’t the case.

One of the most overwhelming Logic critiques is that he copies other artists’ sounds. People didn’t like him initially cause they felt like he was doing what Kendrick Lamar was doing, but not as good. I can see that argument, but at this point, most artists these days are either copying or inspired by Kendrick, J. Cole, or Drake. The biggest issue with Bobby Tarantino II is that Logic is back sounding like other artists. “44 More” seriously feels like a remake of “DNA.” Even worse, some of these songs sound like rejected Rodeo or Cruel Summer tracks. Some tracks, specifically “Wizard of Oz,” are blatantly Travis Scott ripoffs, as far as copying his ad-libs. “Wassup” sounds like a demo of “Mercy,” and it doesn’t help that Big Sean is on the track.

This is also Logic’s corniest and dorkiest project. I always enjoyed his quirky nerd humor, it gave him character and dimension that a lot of rappers don’t have. Yet, this project really feels like he’s pushing that too far. “Indica Badu,” one of the best tracks on the album, is basically slaughtered at the end with Logic ending it with:

Yeah, and if you don’t know by now—I smoke weeeeeeeeed

Like okay… Do you want a fucking medal? You could have just made the song, and we all would have been like: “oh cool Logic likes to smoke.” Announcing it like that really killed the entire vibe; it wasn’t funny nor did it add anything to the album. It definitely left a distaste in my mouth.

However, the most significant knocks came as soon as I hit play. The truth is, you either hate or love Rick and Morty. I for one cannot stand Rick and Morty, and I skipped the skit as soon as I heard their voices. A lot of people I know who casually like Logic told me they did the same thing.

This just comes full circle to what I said earlier. Logic is only gonna make music for his fans at this point. Not to disrespect any Logic fans, but if you’ve ever been to a Logic show you know what I mean. A lot of them are heavily into nerd culture. The soundtrack of nerd culture at this point consists of Anime intros, DragonForce and now Logic. He has a legion of followers who’ll love everything he does, and I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with that, its something to relate to, and people are definitely relating. While Logic might be putting himself in a box, he apparently doesn’t care; he’s gonna continue to get money and live a happy life. The only real growth he can get at this point is from the mainstream, which is exactly what he’s doing.

I’ll be the first to admit that I really can’t stand “1-800-273-8255”. Regardless of what I thought of it, the song impacted a lot of people’s lives, and not many artists nowadays can say they have a song like that. While the message was great, musically I had several issues with the track. The pop production and Logic’s singing showcased a new direction I had a feeling would repeat, and here we are on Bobby Tarantino II with “Everyday.”

Separating the music from the person, I think Logic is a great person, and I’ll always wish him success. For me, he’ll always have great music in his discography, whether it be single tracks or full projects like Under Pressure and Bobby Tarantino. As he continues to progress, I’m not sure if he’ll ever be able to top either of these two greats. He’s focussed on his fans and the mainstream, yet unlike a Kendrick or Drake, it doesn’t seem like Logic can create his own lane and achieve that success. I hope Logic can build off some of the more original sounds he had on Everybody versus hoping on trends… Maybe one day.

– Hiram