Artist: Berran Lee
Album: Year Of The Youngin
Articulation: Courtney Cosby
"The Year of the Youngin", by Berran Lee is fascinating album with impressive lyrical content and melodies. His subject matter is expressive and tells a story, most notably in the song "Three Fathers", which is an absolute standout. It starts off with the clip from the highly popular show, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" where Will asks Uncle Phil why his father doesn't love him and breaks down crying while describing what kind of father he plans to be in the future. This scene was the perfect anecdote to the song as Berran Lee talks about how the relationships with the men in his life deeply affected him. His melodic delivery was reminiscent of J. Cole, as I detected remnants of his influence along with Big Sean, Drake and even early Kanye West. It is exciting to hear a young rapper under the age of twenty-five with lyrical substance instead of mumble rap. There is a maturity to his content, and his delivery is spot on.
"Sweet Anita" is another favorite with a sample from the 1983 Hits Single "Angel" by Anita Baker. Berran Lee and his friend Mac are trying to hook up with two girls at a party. It's not a turn up/party song, but more of a smooth, laid back groove with an old school nineties vibe to it. It's a song you can ride to on a pretty day with your significant other. "Welcome To Radcliff" is another standout song from the album that samples Sade's "Quiet Storm". He pays homage to the city and gives us an insight into the day to day life in Radcliff. Berran Lee has songs with several R&B features that cater to the ladies, which is always good considering the guys usually follow our lead. The production and beat selections blend very well with his melodic voice. The only song that didn't really move the needle was "Sundress", which was towards the end of the sixteen track album. Much of my ho-hum feeling for this song didn't come from the artist himself, but from the beat selection and the voice of the feature artist which is promising but leaves much to be desired. Overall, very solid album and I will be checking for Berran Lee in the near future.
Dope Tho Rating: 6
Key Dope:
Three Fathers
Sweet Anita
Welcome To Radcliff