Popcaan

57 mins, 17 tracks - that's not a short record

So far this has a smooth almost afro-pop vibe so it's nice to listen to it as a crossover record. Which is the Davido collab?

oh it's Dun Rich, for some reason Spotty wasn't showing it

I used to think of this guy as a kind of Jamaican analogue to Young Thug but his music's a lot less eccentric than that, or at least he's dialled it down in recent times

He's never been like YT and I'm struggling to see the overlap - Young Thug is just so much weirder whereas Popcaan is a conscious sweet boy who occasionally makes bangers.

The first two lines on this album are like woah. I came to this album expecting good vibes and got obsessive royal paranoia - great as it is. Rest of the record delivers though.

Yeah I'm re-thinking the YT comparison. I must have got the wrong impression of him from the off with songs like System; and also the fact they collabed a few years back

this album is phenomenal

not sure so far... dare I say 'not enough bangers'? Maybe need to be in the mood, out in the sun drinking something nice rather than stuck in a hot office

The bass at the end of Through The Storm is like woah.

oof, makes my ears feel funny

dog latin, fwiw, I had that Young Thug-Erlebnis with Alkaline.

Can’t wait to listen to the rest of this album after work!

Yeah I can see that about Alkaline. I never got the whole thing about him being accused of being a Vybz Kartel clone. Doesn't make sense to me.

Just looked to see if there are any early reviews of Forever online. Man, some of these reviews. There's a Times one moaning about 'autotune' and 'Patois' being annoying.

Like the sound of this one—his delivery and the laidback vibe. Some juvenile lyrics like on “Naked “ I could do without though.

this album is phenomenal

― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, July 20, 2018 6:00 AM (four days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otm. the pre-release singles were all solid, but this thing really flows, confidently low-key and controlled throughout. "Firm & Strong" sounds immense coming at the end.

only sour note is this seems to be inspiring some of the worst music crit I've ever read, and I haven't even checked the Times one dog latin mentioned. pitchfork review was a shambles

None of the songs have really grabbed me on this yet but as a whole it's got a light vibe that I kind of need right now so I appreciate it. Feels like more of a grower than the last one maybe

i am so into this

This Hannah Giorgis piece in the Atlantic is an exception to the crummy press I complained about earlier; really good piece: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/07/popcaan-keeps-dancehall-moving-forwardwith-its-roots-intact/566318/

“Over time I think me and Davido should do our own album together,” Popcaan said. “For the sake of dancehall and Afrobeats, we should do that.”

really hope ^this wasn't just an idle thought

that would be a great idea

I mean, while this is a Jamaican record, it sits so well in an afrobeats playlist

yeah the mutual influence is super strong on this. And looking back, I’m not even sure how to categorize “My Story”

“Firm and Strong” is an incredible song. I’m shy of calling it transcendental, but it really does earn its gospel choir finale.

“Silence” and “Dun Rich” (the track with Davido) are the two other highlights.

And “Foreign Love” is irresistible to me as well - I mean, the hook is in Dutch!

oh man thank you for mentioning that that's Dutch! I'd been trying to decipher that line, thinking it was some patois I couldn't crack lol. love the rainstorm outro on that one and then "Body So Good" next is really smart sequencing.

It took a few listens (and, especially, just sitting with it on headphones rather than out and about) but I think this whole thing is superb. That said, I'd probably add "Lef My Gun" to your highlights list.

Oh yeah, “Lef My Gun” is very good.

What he’s singing in “Foreign Love”
is ‘ik vind je leuk’ (‘I like you’ - or ‘I think you’re nice/cute’ if you’d want it to scan) - nothing more, nothing less.

Still, by far the best use of Dutch in an English-language pop song in ages. A huge improvement on Madonna’s botched attempt in the intro of “Sorry”.

As an aside, it'd be interesting to see how many of those 'Dutch in English language songs' there really are. Can't think of any off the top of my head.

Well, that was sort of my point: Not a whole lot of competition.

What is definitely starting to be a thing though is Dutch-language features by Dutch rappers on tracks of foreign artists:

https://youtu.be/Kgz5sRcKU9c
7liwa ft. 3robi • Nari (Moroccan)

https://youtu.be/C2i5NUuYYIQ
L’Algérino ft. Boef • Hola (French)

There’s a German one as well, forgot who/what it was.

Ha scrolling through the comments on those is a trip

xp Nari and Boef get around. Would expect Sevn Alias has done a similar gig by now?

Regardless, new Popcaan is a shiny sprawling album. Can't think of anyone really doing what he does at the moment. Which is quite something in and of itself.

xp Nari and Boef get around. Would expect Sevn Alias has done a similar gig by now?

excellent "Body So Good" remix with Mr Eazi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg94ELxI9CY

Nice remix. Could Wizkid be next? I’m sure he would love to work with Popcaan too (he’s done a couple of Popcaan freestyles), but I don’t know if and how the Davido rivalry factors into this.

yeah that would be cool, though their styles are a little similar. Or at least when I first heard Wizkid, he reminded me a lot of Popcaan--they've diverged since then (and don't get me wrong, they're two of my favorite current artists). Anyway, they're linked through Dre Skull so it's maybe not impossible?

Outside of afrobeats, Popcaan's been talking about the need for "unity" in dancehall recently, so I've been imagining all kinds of probably unlikely collaborations. It is interesting that Davido's is the only feature here. Of course, Pusha T was the only guest on WWCF, but that felt like a more justifiable move to establish Popcaan's self-sufficiency not too many years out from "Clarks".

On Popcaan’s African connections - what I learned from Twitter:

-Popcaan was in Nigeria this weekend
-He didn’t perform there
-He met up with Davido
-He recorded with Davido protégé Peruzzi
-Peruzzi also recorded with Burna Boy this weekend
-Burna was added to Popcaan’s London show next month

Video for "Dun Rich" with Davido is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymmkv5DjvfE

(It was shot in Lagos - see above, I guess)

Silence has a video now too; they're putting a lot into promoting this record, I'm impressed (though this video isn't nearly as interesting as Dun Rich):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bqXbE_-MEM

As I've mentioned elsewhere, Silence was the dancehall track I heard the most when I was in Trinidad in December.

I suppose it should be noted that Popcaan has signed to OVO. All I'll say about that is I hope his aversion to features extends into the next album too.

I thought you liked his recent collaborations?

That was an oblique dig at Drake and the rest of the OVO roster. Sorry I’ve been so cryptic lately

But if drake hooks him up with idk Wizkid and Rihanna then I will take it back

My bad, I failed to take in the significance of OVO.

(For an actual bad Popcaan collab, look no further than the track he recorded with Peruzzi during that session in Lagos mentioned above)

Idk, the Controlla remix was pretty good and the stripped down production style on Forever should go well w the ovo sound. Not too worried about any collaborations, really.

Not too worried about any collaborations, really.

― human and working on getting beer (longneck), Thursday, January 17, 2019 6:27 AM (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"During Drake‘s surprise appearance on stage during the Unruly Fest held in Jamaica, the Canadian star announced dancehall artist Popcaan has singed with OVO Sound. Jumping on stage alongside Popcaan himself, Drake delivered the message in patois."

'Informer, you no say "Popcaan, signed to OVO, I'll go blame"
A licky boom-boom down

lol, just saw this. I'm fine with Drake being corny. It's an important part of who he is.

New song: “Best/Blessed”, with a nice lyric video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfzHJEAWAZ0

Laidback where Dexta’s “Dash It Out” is intense (or dense, as rob would have it?)

That is nice, unfortunately it goes into the headphones-only file with My Type. His other new one, Heart String, is really good apart from a weird chorus (something something turkey-lurkey? maybe I'm missing a JA cultural ref here) that more or less tanks the track for me.

Re: Dexta, yeah his emotional level is turned up to 10 compared to someone like Popcaan, but he also packs in a lot more words per bar, giving his songs a kind of baroque quality (none of this is criticism, it's just to explain why his tunes sometimes take a couple listens to make sense to me)

Now “Firm And Strong” has a video too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rEBT_Ge3sc

Isn’t it kind of weird all these videos are dropping only now, in rapid succession? The album came out in July!

(still an amazing song obv, and the video does it justice, I feel)

just guessing, but I assume Mixpak didn't have the cash to make (m)any videos, but as the album has done well, they've been able to fund them?

that's definitely my favorite video so far, and yeah it's kind of a shame that it couldn't have been the launchpoint for the album

New mixtape

I haven't finished it yet, but sad to say it's kind of bad?

damn this owns: https://soundcloud.com/popcaanmusic/yiy-change-fixtape

icymi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXmniReKkDk
Megan Thee Stallion ft. Popcaan & Mustard • Intercourse

that's good but I'm not sure it was worth having the phrase "popcorn and mustard intercourse" in my mind

sounds tasty tho

I put off checking this out because of Drake, but ffs it bangs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjJZNdLSexU

We Caa Done ft. Drake

(maybe don't focus too hard on Drake's "accent" though)

Popcaan in fine form but Drake's feat so so weak that it ruins the song. But if that's running up to an album I will definitely listen.

new album Great Is He is out Jan 27

My expectations for this were subterranean so it's possible that I'm overrating it, but Popcaan sounds great and he hasn't released anything at all good in a very long time. And then Drake is so weird I guess I find it entertaining? It borders on the surreal; I almost laugh when he starts saying "we can-not done" like even his own brain/tongue is like "bro stop this"

wasn’t blown away by the pre-album singles and the Burna collabo on the new album is very underwhelming as well. mediocre song, although Burna is okay on it.

Popcaan’s apparent compulsion to use “pussy tight” in literally all of his songs (“Great Is He” excepted) is very grating.

not sure I will want to delve into this album

Sad to say, you probably shouldn't bother. There are a few good tracks, but it's definitely a chore to get through. He's really become hollow as a pop persona—no real character or POV—and the opulently lethargic production + social media spirituality blah blah sounds cynical and wack, even the horny stuff is flat.

Maybe the real tell is how bad "Set It" is: a retro ragga exercise that his production team should be able to knock out of the park that for some reason sounds like *absolute shit* (seriously listen to Lady Saw's Good Wuk afterwards).

Only listened once, but this was the highlight among the new tracks for me, mostly for the production tbh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hFK2WQbKjM

Freshness

This one is not bad too iirc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDUG_slD35k

11th Commandment

tried to listen to the burna collab & halfway thru shut it off and put on “weed is my best friend”

wise