Cali rapper, R&B singer-songwriter blackbear drops a fourth single, “santa monica & la brea” from his forthcoming project.

Blackbear returns with ‘another one’ – another single that is – in advance of his forthcoming project.  Prior to “Santa monica & la brea,” he served up “playboy shit,” “bright pink tims,” and “up in this.” On “Santa monica & la brea,” he sings about a relationship – common topic in R&B music.  On the pre-choruses, varied each time, blackbear poses hypothetical questions regarding the relationship.  On the chorus, he has a number of things, good and bad going through his mind.  Naturally, sex is part of that – one final [bleep] essentially.

“And maybe I could die treading water / Drowning under moonlight sonata / So kill me like you used to, love me like you never did / F*ck me like we never gon’ see each other again / So kill me like you used to, love me like you never did / F*ck me like I’m never coming back, babe.”

While “santa monica & la brea” has a lot of hypothetical shit going down, there’s some authenticity as well.  On the second verse, when blackbear talks about the state of his liver, he’s being legit, considering he’s mentioned his drinking problems previously.

“On the way down to your house / Got a fifth of Jack, spoiled my liver.”

Final Thoughts

All in all, “Santa monica & la brea” is an interesting song. That said, it’s not game changing. The first time listening, it did little for me.  Successive listens, it offered a bit more.  Still, the career trajectory for blackbear is looking up, and he’s smart taking advantage of the ‘get it while it’s hot’ approach.

blackbear • cybersex • Interscope • Release: 11.27.17

Photo Credit: Interscope