The production is stilted and muddy. Analog doesn't have to mean shitty-sounding!

The album plays like Younge made the tracks and Bilal wrote to them, as a rapper would, rather than having an organic, "built together", feel. The album rarely breathes, and largely forces Bilal to stay boxed in.

That said, it's still Bilal so there is plenty to still like, and it's still better than 80% of what's out there. But I like when Bilal gets loose, and look forward to a record where he gets to play...

Let me get full albums produced by Glasper, Thundercat/Brainfeeder crew, and/or Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

Then let's really let him get raw and introduce him to Serj Tankian and Mike Patton. Talk about a "3 Tenors" for a new generation...