Since becoming the torchbearer for J. Cole’s roster on Dreamville, Cozz has always showcased potential. His 2014 album, Cozz & Effect, was a short but to the point rap album that displayed his insatiable hunger on the microphone, and ear for spacious but knocking beats that drove his determination as a rapper home. At this time, Cozz had just turned 21, and he’s had a lot of time to craft his next album, the defining statement after his first work. However, rather than building on the foundations he laid with Cozz & Effect, he seems to have exactly mimic’ed his mentor, and followed up his fantastic 2014 effort with a sleepy, deadpan snoozer.
It’s eerily similar to compare Cozz & Effect to 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and compare Effected to 4 Your Eyez Only. Like the latter, Effected demonstrates little of the passion, desperation, and overwhelming need Cozz felt to rap his heart out, a trait that made his last album so entertaining. The instrumental choices also pale in comparison to his last album, as they do on Cole’s last album. For every instrumentally rich banger these two picked in 2014, can be found an uninteresting, unmemorable, middle-of-the-road beat that fails to grab any attention or stand out in any exciting way. The opener, “Questions” is the closest we get to a decent instrumental; a slow but poignant piano loop, backed with a simple drum & snare loop and a few sharp shots of bass; it's a standout and a good opening track. It doesn’t even stick around for two and a half minutes, however, before we’re rushed right into the next track, which houses the album’s Kendrick Lamar feature. In the past, this was a confirmation of an incredible guest verse, but in 2018, it's usually a low-effort fair, as Kendrick appears on so many albums these days his talent seems to be spreading thinner and thinner the more features he makes. He sleep-talks through his half-hook half-bridge twice, then disappearing without spitting the blistering verse we were so used to receiving everywhere this guy’s name was found. He's not the only guest artist on cruise control either - when J. Cole rears his head at the back end of the album on the creepily and shamelessly titled 'Zendaya' his verse is average at best. He drops a few gems, such as "And just remember, on your lonely nights this mic will be your friend / You tell it all your secrets that you keepin' deep within", but that's really all that's great about this verse. He mentions the current state of the youth; "In the 80's they smoke crack but now today they sippin' lean and poppin' Xannies" but doesn't offer any insight, enlightenment, or advice on the issue. This is unfortunate, as Cole's recent-ish verse on Joey Bada$$'s 'Legendary' was a breathtaking display of dealing with the fame, but mostly fortune that he had acquired, tackling the guilt and uncertainty of knowing how much he should save, and how much he should share. Cozz doesn't offer much else on this track either, basically thanking Cole for giving him a chance, and then trying to convince Zendaya that she's "a dime" but "fuck bein' fine cause I know you got a brain too". This dude is like three years older than her, and is still at this point a largely unknown rapper - why is he acting like he's as big as Drake, who can get any girl he wants by just asking? It's weird and makes this track very off-putting. This is just one example of a larger issue - Effected is largely lacking any captivating subject matter. Cozz has grown from a young MC with a talent to prove, into a complacent 24-year old who only wants to kick back and smoke without being bothered, as shared on 'Demons N' Distractions'. He spends time complaining that younger women aren't for him, as they do annoying and unnecessary things such as snooping through cell phones, ('Freaky 45' - another off-putting track pertaining to women) and subsequently wonders why he can't find a woman he trusts ('My Love'). In terms of lyrics; shockers such as "I ain't fuckin' if she isn't bad / Naw, fuck that, let them titties sag" and "Aaliyah-liyah-liyah-liyah that's my little chick / But in my DM, DM, DM, DM's got a lot of strippers" are both found on the aptly titled 'Ignorant Confidence', and not one lyric matches up to the best bars from his last album. Neither does his flow - Cozz stumbles across Effected at half the pace he used to, dragging his raps out for far longer than they need to be, making it impossible for him to catch my ear or hold my attention. It's truly dreary, and boring to listen to. It's a shame, because he basically ripped the microphone in half on Cozz & Effect. Effected is a stumble - a fall from his promising start, and a squandering of potential. His bold confidence, angry but energetic flow, and knack to write good lyrics are all nowhere to be found, and neither are the thematic, exciting and powerful instrumentals that back-dropped his debut. Effected feels lazy, which is a true shame, and makes me wonder how much of the past 3 years Cozz actually spent on making this album. Complacency seems to have taken over here - I only hope this is a momentary lull, and not a standstill. But without the hunger and the drive he put into his raps when he was 20, his music won't ever lift back off the ground, 50/100 |
201820162015Scores0-30 = Bad
31-49 = Sub-par 50-60 = Average 61-70 = Decent 71-80 = Good 81-89 = Great 90-99 = Incredible 100 = Perfect Archives
September 2018
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