Fans of “Rick and Morty,” myself included, may not have expected the duo to return Logic’s favor of a brief cameo, as he did last season on the popular show. The grandfather-grandson duo announced last week that Logic was dropping a sequel to his well-received Bobby Tarantino mixtape that would be “Good ol’ Atlanta-style club rap.”
Bobby Tarantino II is a confident and clean-cut mixtape that delivers on the club rap premise mentioned in the project’s opening skit. However, it seems Logic took this project to take a swing at mimicking the styles of his peers, namely Travis Scott, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. The unfortunate part is Logic simply falls short in these attempted imitations. The final product just makes me want to listen to the artist he borrows from instead.
The main themes of the project aren’t as mundane or immature as one might think when the image of club rap comes to mind. Instead of oversexualizing women or glorifying violence, Logic reflects on his fiscal success and his apt good nature. It gets a bit repetitive by the tail end of the project.
“BoomTrap Protocol” and “Wizard of Oz” are clear attempts at grabbing autotunes similar to Travis Scott. The tracks flow well enough and the slick production slides it way across the verse. Come the chorus, though, I was left bug-eyed and laughing at the ridiculous dollar bin version of Logic’s Scott imitation.
“44 More” and “Yuck” are the next in a long list of tracks where Logic has copied Kendrick Lamar, this time directly emulating “DNA.” Do not misinterpret this as a bad thing — in fact, he does well. His great charisma and fast delivery really elevates the tracks, making them some of the mixtape’s highest points.
“Wassup,” retreads the mimicking showcase, this time inspired by the great Kanye’s Cruel Summer. The final minute mark is a great example of Logic just not having enough to sink his teeth into with this project.
Truthfully, the mimicking is not the worst part of the project: It’s Logic’s singing. “Overnight,” was the most horrendous offender. Logic simply does not possess the vocal chops to make his singing enjoyable.
The least inspired and most skippable track of the project comes with Marshmello’s assistance on “Everyday.” I skipped the track the first two times it came on after being unable to stomach more than 15 seconds of Logic’s singing. The radio-friendly, yet absurdly played-out, trap-style electro on the track features everything you would come to expect from a collab with Marshmello. Yes, that’s a bad thing.
While it’s neat to see Logic doing this musical chameleon act, the drawback is he never hits the same mark as his contemporaries, and it comes off as a waste of his talent rather than a showcase of his range. As for the features, they offer some much-needed variety, provided by Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz.
In conclusion, “Rick and Morty” hit it on the head with this one. There are two types of Logic; the mindful juggernaut showcased in his albums with substance and strong achievement, and the turn-up copy cat that’s displayed on his mixtapes. I still suggest you give the mixtape a listen at your next social event or for a workout playlist; aside from that you are not missing much.
Final Grade: C-
