Returning with the third installment of his Rebirth series, Eric Bellinger‘s The Rebirth 3: The Party & The Bedroom sets the mood for both social and more intimate settings, delivering intense, passionate songwriting over an impressive collection of beats that he’s been saving for as long as 10 years.
The album starts off in an impressive fashion. “All For Me” feels like a throwback song with its vintage drum machine style production, yet Bellinger breathes new life into it in a way that sounds fresh and modern. The end result feels like a cinematic experience in song form. “Gang Slide” featuring Mozzy immediately follows and completely switches up the flow with a bouncy West Coast-style backdrop (courtesy of Hitmaka) that induces instant head bobbing with a catchy hook from Bellinger and a standout verse from Mozzy.
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The album’s features serve one of the biggest strengths of the project as Bellinger chooses to collaborate with artists he has authentic connections with that make for a more organic, unforced feel. “The Party” concludes with the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted “Writer’s Block” and it’s one of the best songs on the 24-track double album.
Serving as the perfect transition point into the second half, it slows things down thematically as Bellinger serenades his lover for being a constant source of inspiration: “If I’m writing ‘bout you, I never get writer’s block/ Too many words in the world, there’s just too many words in the world/ If I’m writing about you, you are the perfect muse.”
The “Bedroom” half of The Rebirth 3 continues along the same slow-paced and intimate path. Bellinger doesn’t shy away from bearing his heart and soul, and it pays off. While it does have a lengthy run-time to try to sit through a single listening session, the two sides of the album both complement each other well with one half providing more social tunes that can be played in the background of LA summer cookouts, and the other serves better for intimate listening sessions alone or with a special someone.
If one ever has any doubts about the current status of popular R&B leaning more into “toxic” tropes instead of the immense romance of old school R&B, one listen to Eric Bellinger’s The Rebirth 3: The Party & The Bedroom just might be enough to restore that classic feeling.
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RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2024
RECORD LABEL: All Wins Ent./Compound Interest
Listen to The Rebirth 3: The Party & The Bedroom below:
