From performing in plays for L.A.’s Amazing Grace Conservatory to being signed to Pharrell‘s I Am Other music collective at 15 years old, it’s been quite the decade for Buddy. With any lengthy career comes nuance, but it also requires pause for reflection. For the young Compton rapper, this pause came during a retreat to Portugal where a five-gram mushroom trip and sound bath encounter helped him reach the outlines of his latest studio album Don’t Forget To Breathe.
“I’m not tryna jump off the porch like I’m all enlightened ya know. It’s a journey,” Buddy explained in a recent interview. On “Free My Mind,” the first single from his new album, introduces the theme of mindfulness, grounding and release. “Soon as I free my mind, I’ll be just fine,” he laments as his sluggish vocals and synths swirl around a stacked snare.
AD LOADING...
“Move On” encourages listeners to walk away from draining on-off relationships. Here, Buddy takes on one verse over a deep bass and one-two kick. He then looks deeper on “Shouldve Known,” where he confesses his need to stay out the way while staying prayed up on the swanky lounge tune that Smino bodies effortlessly; his sharp delivery performing a balancing act.
Buddy is Compton top to bottom. Despite how versatile he is, there’s no mistaking the L.A. G-funk grooves that mark each of his projects. Even among the East Coast beats on his last album, Superghetto, there’s “Wait Too Long” featuring Blxst. There’s also Janktape Vol. 1, a bouncy collaborative tape with Overdoz member Kent Jamz, who also features on Don’t Forget To Breathe, appearing on the sultry live jazz feature “Talk About It.”
“Got Me Started” adds to this homage of ’90s West Coast rap beats, as does “Get It All,” a futuristic twist on G-funk littered with popping hi-hats and rippling vocals; “Do Thangs” is producer Hollywood Cole‘s own take on this sound for what might just turn into a cookout favorite.
Buddy gets bar-heavy on “Buddy A Fool,” an interchange between him and his third person self, mimicking rumors and allegations. “That n-gga buddy be high/ I texted him but he didn’t reply/ I heard he got a DUI,” he raps on the song’s chorus. He writes lax yet intelligently only adding interest with thoughtless vocal fillers and inflections.
AD LOADING...
In addition to “Buddy A Fool,” the MC’s loose playful demeanor off camera, out-of-studio shows through on “Like This,” a hazy confession of smoke dreams: “Every time I smoke my spliff I think of all kinds of shit.”
Buddy presents eclectic cruise music on Don’t Forget To Breathe. As he puts it: “I’m just rapping real good over dope beats.”
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2024
RECORD LABEL: EMPIRE
Listen to Don’t Forget To Breathe below:
