Logic, College Park | Album Review 💿

On College Park, his first album as an independent artist, Grammy-nominated rapper Logic delivers the goods from start to finish.

After listening to but not reviewing 💿 Vinyl Days, the 2022 album by 🏆 Grammy-nominated rapper, 🎙 Logic,  I knew I had to review on his forthcoming studio album, whatever that might be. 💿 College Park, which arrives less than a year after Vinyl Days, marks Sir Robert Hall’s first independently released album after a successful run on a major label. Often, independent albums feel different than major label albums released by the same artist.  It can be for the better or for worse depending on how it’s navigated.  In the case of College Park, Logic as an independent artist feels right.  This conceptual effort, centered on a career-building show in 2011, shines from start to finish.  There is plenty to heart about College Park, and it all goes back to the talent of Logic.

“Cruisin’ Through the Universe” 

College Park commences with 🎵 “Cruisin’ Through the Universe,” which sets the tone.  Produced by 🎛 6ix and Keanu Beats, the sound is one of the big selling points.  The rhythmic electric guitar, synthesizer, and old-school groove pack a sizable punch.  Furthermore, Logic shines in the melodic hook (the intro), and intrigues on his spacy, pitch-shifted verse.  🎙 RZA is the credited featured guest on the second verse, the longest and most accomplished of the two.  Also, making “Cruisin’ Through the Universe” unique is the outro.  The outro marks one of many interludes/skits that paint the nostalgic vibes of College Park, an album where the MC revisits the beginnings of his career.

🤩 🎵 “Wake Up” is a strong showing, finding Logic wowing with his electrifying flow.  It begins with a repetitive but hypnotic chorus, supported by thrilling production (the synths, the beats). There is only one verse, but he makes it worthwhile. “Dropped out of school then he picked up a spatula,” he raps at one point, adding, “‘Cause he never had a good role model, just a hood role model.” Prior to that, he raps about his come up: “I went through the worst, but I made it out / Like the Alpha Omega, to show me which way it could go / Yeah, he laid it out.” 🎙 Lucy Rose performs at the end of this highlight, once more shedding light to the audience about the concept and narrative of College Park (“And on a beautiful Autumn day in 2011 / Logic and his best friends drive through the slums of College Park in a Chevy Impala…”).

🤩 🎵 “Lightsabers” keeps the momentum going strong on College Park.  Running nearly five minutes in duration, “Lightsabers” is a two-parter.  The highlight of Part I is the chorus, where the big takeaway is, “It’s a good day!” The sound is exuberant. Part II slackens the pace, featuring more subdued production.  Even with the restraint of the backdrop, at least prior to the synth burst on the refrain, Logic remains potent with his agile rhymes. He gets an assist from 🎙 C Dot Castro in the fourth verse, as well as another outro contributing to the concept.

“Clone Wars III”

“Uh, when I grip the mic, it’s like I’m lookin’ through the face of God / I can’t even begin to understand why I’m so odd.” Woo! The energy remains ‘next level’ on 🎵 “Clone Wars III,” another joint with one verse.  Again, Logic makes that sole verse matter, remaining true to who he is. Notably, he mentions how he wished he were other rappers he respects – J. Cole, Lupe Fiasco, and Jay-Z – but comes to the realization, “‘Til I woke up one day and realized, I’m Logic / Somethin’ they could never be, let’s not even acknowledge it.” Beyond his honesty and ever captivating bars, “Clone Wars III” benefits from its vintage backdrop.  Furthermore, there is an entertaining skit between him and 🎙 Big Lenbo where they are ordering food in advance of his rap show.

On 🎵 “Redpill VII,” Logic asserts, “Ayo, my flow non-binary, that mean it never miss.” Thought-provoking, for sure.  Clearly, it’s the wordplay that catches the ears here, with the MC spitting straight bars, with an endless flow, over the course of one verse.  Just as he begins the verse without missing, he concludes it with the same assertion: “Presidential suites, I cannot be impeached / I never miss.” Once more, Lucy Rose concludes a track with an outro, delivering commentary about poverty, the under privileged, and the hard-knock life, something Logic experienced first-hand.  Follow-up 🎵 “Playwright” enlists an unlikely collaborator – 🎙 Andy Hull of the alternative rock band, 🎙 Manchester Orchestra. Early on, it is all Logic, but by the second iteration of the chorus, Hull sings with the rapper, before delivering the bridge solo.  The results are positive, all told.  Again, it is the outro that steals the show with the banter between the rapper and his compadres, reminiscing back to the early days.

“Gaithersburg Freestyle”

🤩 🎵 “Gaithersburg Freestyle” benefits from its nasty backdrop, anchored by a banging-ass beat.  After getting hyped up on the intro, Logic goes off in the first verse.  “I run the game like a Switch, used to bus tables just for the tips,” he asserts, adding, “Now these bitches beggin’ me for the tip of my dick.” WOO! Post-Logic, 🎙 C Dot Castro brings the heat in the second verse, 🎙 Big Lenbo in the third (“I stay with the bread, I stay with the toast / You motherfuckers out here doin’ the most”), 🎙 Fat Trel in the fourth, and 🎙 ADÉ closes things out in the fifth.  The track is a certified banger that leads into another standout moment from College Park, 🤩 🎵 “Insipio.” “Insipio” commences with some of the classiest production work of the album.  Even with its classiness, the beat gives, and, expectedly, Logic doesn’t get the least bit soft.  As always, he’s brutally honest, with one of the most eyebrow raising moments being, “But I finally made thirty million and my life changed / Finally found happiness when my wife changed…” Damn! As The Bible so clearly states, the truth will set you free.  Lucy Rose closes things out once more, backed by a production switch.  

On the five-minute-plus 🎵 “Self Medication,” Logic enlists a unique cast for the assist: 🎙 Seth MacFarlane (!), 🎙 Redman, and 🎙 Statik Selektah. Logic and Redman ‘do the damn thing’ – we expect no less.  The bars are GIVING.  As for Statik Selektah, those scratches take us back to the golden age of hip-hop.  The Boom Bap vibes are on point. The biggest surprise is MacFarlane, who lends his stunning, jazzy vocals in the bridge.  Beyond the enjoyable track, on the outro, the listener is given more of the story – the concept of the album. Notably, a young Logic is confirming the set list for his big Washington D.C. show. “Self Medication” is followed up by the banging 🤩 🎵 “Shimmy” featuring 🎙 Joey Bada$$ in the second verse. Bada$$ echoes similar sentiments that Logic has expressed on this album and albums in the past as he spits, “Yeah, came a long way, I went from EBT to BET / Had to spread love the Brooklyn way, that’s word to B.I.G.” The chorus, performed by Logic, celebrates the come up: “Shimmy, shimmy, ya, bitch, I get money like ODB / Shimmy, shimmy, yeah, I’m finally eatin’ good, no EBT.”

“Paradise II”

🎵 “Paradise II”, another ‘sequel’ song, features another unlikely collaborator, 🎙 Norah Jones. Notably, prior to College Park, Logic and Jones collaborated on his popular song, 🎵 “Fade Away”, recorded on her podcast, Norah Jones is Playing Along. These two successfully co-exist, which speaks to the versatility of both, musically.  A lengthy track at north of six minutes, only about half is reserved for the paradise.  It is comprised of intro (Jones), verse (mostly Logic), and a silky smooth outro (Jones).  From there, it is another skit, this one involving gas station shenanigans and ending with the colorful request, “Shit, suck a nigga dick or some’.” Boys will be boys!

🤩 🎵 “Come On Down” enlists 🎙 Jordan Harris, who performs the intro, which speaks to the death of one’s goodness and pureness to become a star.  Logic embraces this in the chorus, where he asserts, “I want the world, I want the money, I want the respect…” Furthermore, in the verse, he continues, “Let me get it all, get all the money, get the women / Motherfucker better give me ten of them.” While his aspirations seem have a degree of shallowness, dig deeper, and it’s more than just the money and women he can hook up with.  The rapper lets us peak into the door of a painful past as he spits, “Can’t speak on the things that done happened to me as a child / I’m talkin’ ‘bout sodomy / Oh no, I can’t let you see that side of me.” Also, it’s worth noting that the outro by 🎙 Lil Keke makes listeners rethink perceptions about gangsters.  Thought provoking commentary to say the least.

Once more,  on 🎵 “Village Slum,” Logic is in reflection mode.  Specifically, he speaks about the power of addiction and the effect it has had on him. “Uh, I look at my mom, I look at my dad / And see how drugs and alcohol took away everything they had,” he spits, adding, “I didn’t drink ‘til I was twenty-seven, then I did from then / And every time I take a sip, I’m scared that I’ll become them.” Trauma is incredibly powerful to say the least.  Interesting, the outro ties in superbly, finding Logic’s friend pressuring him to smoke a blunt, which he eventually gives into.  It segues to 🤩 🎵 “Highlife” which, expectedly, plays up getting high and being high on life (“High (And you know I), no lie (And you know I), so high Break it down, roll it up, get high (And you know I)”). Even the production (Logic, 🎛 Travis Stacey, and 6ix) supports this ‘elevated’ experience.  “Highlife” is a prime example of chill, melodic rap. Even 14 tracks in, “Highlife” offers a contrast to much of College Park.  The perfect 420 anthem for the entirety of the year 💨!

“38.9897 °N, 76.9378 °W” 

The high of “Highlife” doesn’t fade in the least on 🤩 🎵 “38.9897 °N, 76.9378 °W”.  Following a melodic turn, Logic spits straight bars on this ‘title track’ of sorts.  His best moment is the chorus, which follows an intro by 🎙 Kevin Randolph.  Even so, Logic also delivers the third verse.   🎛 6ix puts his foot into the production, which is simultaneously vintage and fresh.  C Dot Castro and Big Lenbo perform the first and second verses respectively, speaking to College Park in all its ‘glory.’  On the penultimate record 🎵 “Ayo,” 🎙 Lil Keke reappears (via sample), while 🎙 Bun B appears for the first time (“God drive like I’m Ryan Gosling / So I put my key in the ignition”). Prior to Bun B, Logic channels his melodic side on both the first verse and the chorus, filled with ayo(s), of course.  The outro finds Logic feeling appreciative for his dreams coming true.

Logic caps off College Park with the lengthy 🎵 “Lightyear.” As with most outros by the rapper, he is ultra-reflective and in pure flex mode.  There are a number of beat switches, keeping things fresh and unpredictable, even if the formula for the closer is predictable (based on history).  “Lightyear,” all told, is a fitting closer.

Final Thoughts 💭 

Logic is now an independent artist, after an incredibly successful run as a major-label artist.  Arguably, he may be better off an independent rap artist.  College Park is an incredibly well-rounded album, period.  It is an album that sounds like the artist is in full control, releasing the material he desires to release, without any pressure to conform to the mainstream.  At over an hour, there is plenty for fans to sink their teeth into, and honestly, no bad or underwhelming moments.

🤩 Gems 💎: “Wake Up,” “Lightsabers,” “Gaithersburg Freestyle,” “Insipio,” “Shimmy,” “Come On Down,” “Highlife” & “38.9897 °N, 76.9378 °W”  

🎙 Logic • 💿 College Park • 🏷  Three Oh One Productions, LLC / BMG Rights Management (US) • 🗓 2.24.23

[📷: Three Oh One Productions, LLC / BMG Rights Management (US)]