Everything - Kota the Friend
Intro:
Kota the Friend is an independent artist hailing from Brooklyn, New York. He’s developed a lot fo his own buzz and fan base through years of musical releases. I had always heard about him in the underground scene, and finally checked him out after the release of his previous album “Foto” in 2019. That album actually became one of my favorite releases from last year, so naturally I was excited for this new album. Let’s see if it lived up to the last.
Strengths:
The biggest appeal of his music is the chill-friendly vibe present in almost all of his work. Kota himself rap with a calm and friendly delivery, and finds bouncy flows that fit well with the production. Like all of his music, his lyrics are very introspective, and usually are him casually sharing about his son, daily activities, career, life, etc. This album paints the picture of Kota being in a very happy and positive space in his life, as if having learned true acceptance. Things like this make him come off very relatable. Also, there are lots of references to NY and even some great love songs (Ex. Away Park).
His bouncy flows, mentioned above, fit the production well; which features a lot of chill sample-based beats with bouncy trap drums and patterns. There are some exceptions to this beat formula, but most of the production being this way makes the album very accessible for new listeners to have an easy listening experience. I also like the addition of natures sounds/samples that are found throughout his entire discography.
The album isn’t super long either, and the skits from Lupita Nyong'o and Lakeith Stanfield sharing how they define “everything” add to the album’s completion. I love that he’s also working with more of his peers like Bas, Joey Bada$$, and Tobi Lou. Them and every other feature compliment the strengths of this album very well. My favorite has to be Kaiit on the song Away Park. Here, she provides beautiful background vocals to the track as well as an excellent performance at the very end of the song.
Weaknesses:
There weren’t too many flaws or things I didn’t like on this Kota album. I will say though that despite fitting what his goal was with this album, the lyrics aren’t super complex which I could see being an issue for some. For example, Bas and Joey noticeably outshine lyrically on the posse track “BQE”. Another product of the feel good them and message of the album, is the lack of emotional depth that was present on his previous album. This isn’t big issue, again, because that wasn’t the album’s focus. But, I could see this being another thing others would take negatively. The only other small gripes I have is the unappealing singing vocals on Long Beach.
Overall: 8.5/10
I really had a good time listening to this album each time before this review. It’s a lot more simple and concise than his album Foto; which I think works in this album’s benefit to appeal to a wider audience. This album also happens to fit where I am in life currently and definitely is a factor for my enjoyment with the record. I still prefer Foto, but Everything isn’t far off and is a great follow up LP. Thank you for reading, and you can listen to the album below if you haven’t listened yourself yet. I’ll be sharing my final thoughts for this album and others at the of June.
