One of the underrated aspects of 's charm is his prowess as a vocalist. Paired with the right mood or set of lyrics, he can conjure up a pretty convincing case that he's something of an R&B visionary. On the albums leading up to 2022's , seemed to mostly forget his status, focusing mainly on rapping over dragging trap beats and only rarely showing off his skills as a singer. Amazingly, at some point prior to the recording of the album, trap fever seems to have broken and some different flavors finally started to creep back into the mix. Working with an array of producers including longtime ally , and touches on new sounds like house music and Baltimore club, delves into guitar jazz fleetingly, and only invites a couple guests along to contribute instead of the usual cast of hundreds. It makes for one of his most varied and interesting records, with a melancholy, slightly defensive lyrical viewpoint that's familiar to all who have ever heard a song, but here it feels somehow like the words cut a little closer to the bone. Perhaps it's the fact that he keeps the focus pointed directly at himself and doesn't bring anyone else in to distract from his litany of desperate heartbreaks, bitter revenge fantasies, hurt feelings, and romantic betrayals. Unlike his recent albums where the listener might have felt locked in with no escape from the darker side of 's psyche thanks to the monochromatic production, here one could choose to ignore the deluge of self-pity and focus instead on the rollicking late-night house jams ("Texts Go Green"), slippery club ballads ("Flight's Booked" and the sample-damaged, -sounding "Massive"), bubbly summer tunes ("Down Hill"), and the slinky "Tie That Binds," which brings just a touch of Latin soul to the proceedings. Of course, it's never exactly fun, since there is a thick coat of ghostly synth pads and backing vocals pulling the clouds over any hint of sun. Nobody really comes to a record for fun, though; they come for a mood, and this record delivers it fully, only wrapped in some new, almost bright threads. There are a few tracks where does some rapping: the pumping Baltimore-influenced "Sticky" is the most fun, while the album-ending, -featuring "Jimmy Cooks" is typical boasty , but since it's an outlier, it has a little more impact than when it's surrounded by 20 more of them. is a welcome development in the saga, a left turn off what was starting to seem like an endless stretch of trap-heavy highway. The destination is still sad and self-involved, but at least the scenery is colorful and never boring. ~ Tim Sendra