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The Beautiful & Damned
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The Beautiful & Damned
Current price: $17.99
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Barnes and Noble
The Beautiful & Damned
Current price: $17.99
Size: CD
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Exploring the two sides to his personality, the Bay Area rapper born
tackles his duality as
on his third effort,
. A double album, the collection chronicles the pitfalls of a hedonistic lifestyle in the limelight, as well as the cliched behavior that comes with the territory. With production from the likes of
,
, and others, it's his best-produced and most pop-leaning offering to date, elevated by a stacked roster of guests. Soulful vocalists
("Sober") and
("Leviathan") provide plaintive choruses to offset
's cautionary musings about his fast living, while
("Crash & Burn") and
("Mama Always Told Me") contribute two of the many highlights on
. In fact, the album functions best when
is paired with a female foil, his bad-boy heartthrob image tamed by an often stronger presence. On "No Limit," both
and
take a back seat to the show-stealing (and showstopping)
, her verse as satisfying and hard-hitting as
's on "Monster." Elsewhere,
make similar improvements, but it's the lead single, "Him & I," that truly shines. A self-described "2017 Bonnie and Clyde" with then-girlfriend
, it's the type of song that makes an entire album worth the effort, an immediate hit and standout. On his own,
's solo tracks lean toward contemporary 2017 trap stylings, hypnotic and woozy atmospherics pairing with typically dark and fatalistic lyrics like "I would die a legend if today they JFK me." However, at the album's close,
makes a surprising turn toward clarity and defiance, taking the podium to address social issues on "Love Is Gone" with
of
, before ending on a poignant note with "Eazy," a warning to his younger self. Through the dark and the light, the arrogance and the contrition, the temptation and the control, both
take their turns in the spotlight like a leather-clad, slick-haired Jekyll and Hyde. With an inspired guest list and excellent production,
is a satisfying artistic accomplishment that cautions as much as it seduces. ~ Neil Z. Yeung