On paper,
Blueface makes no sense at all. A promising football player with no interest in making music found himself at a recording studio by chance. On a whim he hopped in the booth and started rapping with a barely on-rhythm flow, and some mystical combination of charisma and eccentricity catapulted him to fame in a matter of months. Underground bangers like "Dead Locs" gave way to chart-topping hits like "Thotiana" and mixtapes went from low-key affairs to big productions with cameos from
Cardi B and
Offset. Debut studio album
Find the Beat followed a series of increasingly strong mixtapes all characterized by
Blueface's wobbly meter and his offhandedly casual, effortlessly cool personality. The album is a step up in terms of instrumental and big-name features, with polished production and guest spots from
Polo G,
DaBaby,
Jeremih, and other established stars.
Blueface fills his songs with an abundance of punchy, lyrical one-liners, and his laid-back delivery is in full effect on tracks like the
Gunna-assisted "First Class" and the double-time hooks of "Wire."
Blueface has something that's hard to define yet impossible to deny, with jagged edges and bumpy bars all contributing to the overall charm of
Find the Beat. ~ Fred Thomas