Brent Faiyaz “WASTELAND” Album Review

WASTELAND

Brent Faiyaz

• Genre: R&B/Soul
• Release Date: 2022-07-08
• Explicitness: explicit
• Country: ZAF
• Track Count: 19
• ℗ 2022 Lost Kids LLC., Marketed by Venice / Stem

Brent Faiyaz “WASTELAND” Album Artwork

Brent Faiyaz sings softly on the album Wasteland, which was produced by a talented group of artists, including No ID, Raphael Saadiq, DJ Dahi, Jake One, Jordan Ware, and Faiyaz. Guests include Alicia Keys, Joony, and Tre Amani in addition to Drake and Tyler. Faiyaz, who sings so sweetly about unpleasant events, is the unmistakable protagonist.

A number of the sketches in Wasteland are similar to the heartbreaking “We Cry Together” by Kendrick Lamar. The argument between Faiyaz and the mother of his child in this spoof about their relationship becomes so heated that it puts the album’s seduction-talk in a fresh, bracing, and self-destructive light. This is a magnificent piece of ambitious art. While each track stands on its own, they also combine to become something greater than the sum of its parts.

Tracks and Features

“That’s the Internet word that people like to attach to sh*t” and “So if you sing some real sh*t, like what’s toxic? What’s real?” he says to open Wasteland on “Villian’s Theme.” For Brent, his songs detail a very real lifestyle that isn’t some false persona or game of pretend to play into a trend. Brent isn’t being anything, he just is it, and to him, there’s a difference between the two.

Following the chaotic and illogical debate on “Villian’s Theme,” the ominous violin strumming of “Loose Change” enters the scene. Brent utilizes the album’s first official track to vent his concerns about fame like water from a bucket. The men are clout chasing him and/or attempting to topple him off his throne while the women whine too loudly for more of his time.

Brent is once again striving for peace in the public eye in “Price of Fame,” which continues the current financial topic. He jokes on the song, “They just wanna to take me off of here,” before telling us that celebrity, glitz, glamor, people yelling your name, and demands “isn’t everything.” Other times on the album, such as on “Gravity,” “Wasting Time,” and briefly on “Addictions,” Brent seems exhausted and worn out by the demands of those in his world.

There is a better word than poisonous to characterize the 26-year-old singer since, for what it’s worth, he frequently simply asks for the bare minimum, especially from women. Selfishness causes him to walk on the red carpet with his sidekick in “Oblivion” just after his baby mother complains about feeling abandoned and alone in “Egomaniac.” On “Ghetto Gatsby,” Brent checks in casually regarding a woman and her seemingly baseless complaints. This is due to selfishness.

Notably, “Wasting Time,” the Drake-featured single that debuts as a tribute to a minimalist and unbothered romance and puts a glint to Brent’s eye, enters just two songs later. On “Dead Man Walking,” he tells you to do as you wish without being overbearing. He proudly flexes his methods and offers to teach them on the stomping “Role Model,” but he wants you to see the world as he does.

As said in “Heal Your Heart,” he can’t make up for your disappointment in his true personality, even in his most love-driven times. Brent coolly reminds us that he is a “Rolling Stone” and that he is a rock star. As we learn at the conclusion of “Wake Up Call,” he claimed there was no such thing as going too fast. As he tries to save his pregnant mother from a suicide attempt, he becomes aware of this as his automobile crashes to the ground.

On “Jackie Brown,” he sings, “Life moves fast when you do what you want.” He quickly discovers, through the expertly made, sinister, and vivid tracks on this album, that the fast life is frequently a death race rather than a carefree tour of the metropolis.

Tracks

NO	Title	Artist	Time
1	VILLAIN’S THEME	Brent Faiyaz	2:21
2	LOOSE CHANGE	Brent Faiyaz	3:46
3	GRAVITY (feat. Tyler, The Creator)	Brent Faiyaz & DJ Dahi	3:34
4	HEAL YOUR HEART (INTERLUDE)	Brent Faiyaz	1:15
5	SKIT: EGOMANIAC	Brent Faiyaz	1:21
6	ALL MINE	Brent Faiyaz	3:36
7	PRICE OF FAME	Brent Faiyaz	6:19
8	GHETTO GATSBY (feat. Alicia Keys)	Brent Faiyaz	3:18
9	WASTING TIME (feat. Drake & The Neptunes)	Brent Faiyaz	5:01
10	ROLLING STONE	Brent Faiyaz	2:42
11	FYTB (feat. Joony)	Brent Faiyaz	3:18
12	SKIT: OBLIVION	Brent Faiyaz	2:46
13	DEAD MAN WALKING	Brent Faiyaz	4:07
14	ADDICTIONS	Brent Faiyaz & Tre’ Amani	3:12
15	ROLE MODEL	Brent Faiyaz	3:14
16	JACKIE BROWN	Brent Faiyaz	2:49
17	BAD LUCK	Brent Faiyaz	2:42
18	SKIT: WAKE UP CALL	Brent Faiyaz	5:05
19	ANGEL	Brent Faiyaz	3:39

Production Credits

This body of work was produced by a talented group of artists, including No ID, Raphael Saadiq, DJ Dahi, Jake One, Jordan Ware, and Faiyaz.

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