Non-Perishable

I've been waiting for Tobi Lou to drop an album for fucking ever man. The moment I heard Lingo Star, his three-track ep, I was hooked. There is no one else in hip hop right now that I can just vibe to like Tobi Lou. He's innovating but not in an obvious way, I'd say he's on the experimental wave but if you heard Babycakes or The Last Dance at a club you wouldn't bat an eye. It's pop-rap for nerds, it appeals so heavily to me that I feel crazy showing anyone else. But this is the future of pop-rap and RnB. Listening to Tobi Lou is getting on the ground floor of the future of popular music, and it's sounding great.

Non-Perishable is the first of a trilogy, he announced Perish Blue TWO YEARS AGO, and we're just now getting the first part of a trilogy that should be continuing this summer. Going in, I was expecting D-sides because of the name of the project and the quality of WIDE Open. It's just not a great song, production is Non-Perishable's best quality so the skeletal beat and very lackluster songwriting make this a skip for me. The feature adds a little bit but doesn't save this from being a lackluster song. 2hrs was an ok one minute but with the extra verse, and T-Pain giving an excellent performance this one became great. I'd say, She Knows My Name is way too short and sounds like a D-Side with a pretty lackluster chorus. Jelly is good but clearly a b-side.

But other than those moments this album is pretty great. Absolute bangers like Hopeless Romantic, Meaningless, Yamaguchi, and Babycakes are all very flawed but also extremely fun songs. Tobi's writing seems very flow-focused but if you can get past the occasional wack or lazy bar, there's enough to offer. I don't think anyone in the game is doing pitch shifting like Tobi Lou. I'm obsessed with this way does background vocals and just creates these crescendos of melody. It's not something most people care about but it creates an unbeatable vibe. I think this is just me though. I've played Yamaguchi for other people and it just doesn't hit them the same way it does for me, but I'm obsessed. Hurry Up Offense has the same issues but the switch is incredible. If this is B-Side material then holy shit. Busy is actually experimental, feels a little skeletal and I don't love the guitar section but it's still a highlight. And The Last Dance is one of the best songs of the year so far. The CHIKA sample is something special, and once Tobi starts performing it's just awesome.

Non-Perishable isn't something I'd recommend to many people on this site but give it a try. And if Before We Perish and Perish Blue is better than this I'm very very excited. It's not high art but sometimes you need a palate cleanser. And this is the shit that I find comfortable.