Northern Lights by Allan Kingdom

Allan Kingdom is best known by many for his work alongside Paul McCartney and Theophilus London on Kanye West's huge 2015 single All Day. Not to downplay Allan Kingdom's involvement with that track, but outside of that feature he has managed to put together some very solid work of his own, and his 2014 mixtape Future Memoirs really helped put the Canadian emcee on the map. Perhaps Kingdom's best skill, which became very clear on the previously mentioned Future Memoirs, was in his hooks and choruses which not only found themselves stuck in your head, but oftentimes thanks to his intriguing beat selection also had you bobbing your head and grooving along. Because of that ability to create catchy tracks, I've been anticipating his followup for quite some time. Fortunately, his latest release Northern Lights, did not disappoint.

As soon as the album kicks off with the opening track, The Ride, Allan Kingdom shows that not only is he continuing to craft the same catchy hip-hop tracks we've heard from him previously, but he's now fine-tuned his skills even more. One of the changes from his last release to this, is the beat selection, which suits his style even more so than on his previous release. Another thing worth mentioning with the album's production is how much of it comes from Kingdom himself, and most of his self-produced tracks are amongst my favourites on the album.

While the second track, The Forest (Intro) doesn't add much to the album, aside from that the young rapper seems to do a great job of making the most of almost all the tracks in the listing, as he packs each one with a great flow, some solid lyrics, and a hook to chant along with. The only cuts that really stuck out to me as two that I did not enjoy, was I Feel Ya, which to me is in some ways reminiscent to previous work done from the man who invited Allan Kingdom onto All Day, Kanye West, and while it does have the same texture and feeling you'd find on Kanye's 808's and Heartbreak, it fails to have the same effectiveness, and ultimately sticks out as being a questionable inclusion in the track listing. The other track is Interruption, which often borders on being annoying for me personally. However, aside from that track, the project is very tight, and every other song is enjoyable. It stays similar enough to flow and feel cohesive, but different enough that even after multiple listens, the album still continues to be fun. Allan Kingdom definitely kicked off his 2016 the right way.

Favorite Tracks: The Ride, Hypocrite, Northen Lights, Go Fish

Least Favorite Tracks: I Feel Ya

I decided to change up the previous rating system, cause who really uses letters to grade anymore anyway?

Rating: 3.5/5