Rich Brian's come-up is about as strange as his old Youtube videos. First gaining fame with his off-brand of comedy, Brian Imanuel shot up in popularity after a video of rappers reacting to his song "Dat $tick" went viral. Since then, Rich Brian has taken that small window of fame and turned it into a budding hip-hop career, and his first album "Amen" shows plenty of positive signs for the future.
Probably the best aspect of the album is the production. As Rich Brian often likes to point out in his songs, he self-produces a majority of his tracks to great effect. In "Amen" Brian comes through with a diverse and unique set of instrumentals that usually accompany his flow extremely well. From the smooth guitar work on "Glow Like Dat" to the dark xylophone melodies on "Occupied," Brian manages to keep the beats fresh throughout the 44 minute album.
However, the same can't be said about his flows and lyricism. Don't get me wrong, both are consistently good throughout the album, but they feel so consistent to the point where they start to drag on. For example, "Flight" sounds like Brian took the song structure and flow of "Dat $tick" and put it over positive, airy production. Listening to the album all the way through wasn't all that mundane due to the wide range of beats, but Rich Brian's verses did little to help with his replayability. His repetitive flow combined with his monotone voice makes "Amen" an album I wouldn't want to keep on for extended periods of time.
Another factor that made some of the songs feel monotonous was the hooks. Apart from some standouts like "Little Prince" and "Glow Like Dat" I could barely tell whether or not the songs even had a chorus at all. The few hooks Rich Brian does provide sound like short snippets of verses that didn't make the cut. Having no hook is fine if you try to take the Lil Wayne route and go extra hard on the bars, but Rich Brian simply doesn't have the lyricism or the energy to put out a track like that at this point in his career. As a result, there's not much that separates a "Trespass" from an "Enemies" or a "Chaos."
To his credit though, Rich Brian takes more risks on the album than I expected given his previous work. "Little Prince" is one of the more interesting songs on the album, providing Rich Brian's take on the tropical vibe that invaded the mainstream over the past few years. The song "Cold" is also a cool track that mixes a chillstep beat with a more energetic flow.
Overall I do like a lot of tracks on the album and if Rich Brian can step up his hook game, I feel like he's on track to make a big name for himself in the future.
