UPCOMING ARTIST: LYSICK

      As far as naming albums go, selecting a title which has already been used by 2 rather large game players could perhaps be considered foolish by some degree. Lysick acknowledges the potential pitfalls which threaten his project, stating in a blurb to the album:

While Drake and Rick Ross prepare their own version (You Only Live Once), Lysick took his own stance at the acronym. From the experience of others and his own, he quickly made a statement that fits the acronym, and realized that many only love once.

I must admit, I read this and had a number of instant misgivings. I thought I was letting myself in for a cheese fest, but then I played the title track and though the sample may be well used, Careless Whisper never gets old. The hook which Lysick provides to this track is absolutely superb and is accompanied by some heartfelt lyricism. Indeed, during this track, I suggest taking a look at the album artwork because it is an absolute perfect fit. "The first time, you fully give your heart away / The second time you give away whatever part remains", granted is not a particularly complex line in terms of rhyme scheme, but purely in terms of ideas and connotations, it is superb. The title track is excellent and I am not afraid to admit that I listened to it on numerous occasions.

      Indeed, the project is littered with intelligent and generally unexpected concepts. Particularly illustrative of this is the track Picasso, a brash and boastful addition to the tape and the placement of the track is really rather clever. It follows Fxck Valentine, a track predictably about love, jealousy and overcoming these feelings by getting a girl. This track is somewhat skippable but listening to it adds to the overall feeling which Picasso provides. The beat is infectious, with pipes panning beneath the synth, bass and drums. It suddenly bombards the listener with vanity, as Lysick chants "Middle fingers in the air if you love yourself and you really don't care." However, I felt the track was deeper than the above description would suggest. It ultimately perfectly explains the modern male persona; Lysick states that "he doesn't care" but the fact that the track is found on this album seeking to explain the nature of love would suggest that he really does. The whole song is a façade, but I think that this is deliberate.

      The main issues I had with the project are visible in this very track that I have so highly praised. The concept is underdeveloped, the track tails off after just 2 minutes and 21 seconds and Lysick's quality flow and style means that I wanted more, but was left with little. In Picasso, the rapper plays on the idea that he is an artist, citing "self portraits" on numerous occasions, but he fails to reflect more on the ideas of male bravado which the song is so innately linked to. The problem is not isolated to this song. Jordan is 2 minutes 11, while Fxck Valenitine is 2 minutes 41. Somewhat ridiculously, Lala Love, where Lysick's flow is at its best on the album is just 45 seconds long, ending with the assertion that Lysick is "going to do"the female subject he raps about. These instances reek of Lysick developing a concept and failing to sufficiently engage himself to the point that he will develop it and play about with it as much as I would have liked.

      These issues aside, YOLO is still a solid album and I Made Up My Mind is another track which illustrates this. As Lysick enters, his flow is undeniably excellent. It is absolutely effortless as he rhymes "serenely" with "certainty, surgically" and "serpentry" all in one bar. There is undoubted talent and ability to spit over a beat here. Intelligence and thought are both evident as well here, as Lysick compares his rapping ability with love, as it is "brain stimulation". There are obvious connotations here, though I am uncertain as to whether they are deliberate. Most notably, the issue as to whether stimulation is love? Nonetheless, it was Lysick's lyricism which got me asking such questions. Somewhat amusingly, in spite of his assertion that "He isn't fucking with [my] mind" in the aftermath of the above line, he certainly did and I deliberated on the song for quite some time. It is an excellent and at times thought provoking track.

       The problem of the underdeveloped concepts cannot be ignored at times and a 15 track mixtape should not be 43 minutes. It should be longer and in some instances, the issue is glaringly obvious, this is especially true in moments where lazy lyrics raise their ugly head. In No One But You, another 2 minute something track, Lysick states "I place her so high, everyone else under" and that line is a real shame as it is just too easy. It takes away some of the shine from truly insightful lyrics in this same song:

Her eyes glow

And I glow because you a treasure

Shining like a diamond you never crack under pressure

That "I place her so high line" is a real shame and I won't let it ruin the song but it is such a weak line and Lysick proves throughout the album that he can do so much better

POTENTIAL: 7/10

Strengths: Fantastic Flow, Catchy hooks, some intelligent lyrics.  

Yolo, I Made Up My Mind, Picasso, No One But You (One whack line can't ruin a great song), Distant Love.

Weaknesses: Lots of short songs, suggesting a scattered approach and a failure to develop some really promising concepts. Fxck Valentine, Lala Love, Jordan. These tracks just felt like fillers.

The highest praise I can give an album is that it stays on my ipod. A number of songs from this project can boast that prestigious achievement.


DOWNLOAD YOLO HERE:
http://yolo.bandcamp.com/album/yolo-you-only-love-once