Album of the Year 2016 #3: Kevin Abstract - American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story - HipHop | HipHop Channel

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Album of the Year 2016 #3: Kevin Abstract - American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #3: Kevin Abstract - American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story - HipHop

Album of the Year 2016 #3: Kevin Abstract - American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story

Posted: 03 Jan 2017 11:25 AM PST

Artist: Kevin Abstract

Album: American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story

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Album Background by /u/Cohtoh

Texas-born singer/songwriter/rapper/producer Kevin Abstract (real name Ian Simpson) dropped his long awaited sophomore effort in November of 2016, about two and a half years after his debut, MTV1987. MTV showed immense amounts of potential, potential that became fully realized on his new album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story.

Kevin was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, but has bounced around the U.S map, having lived in Atlanta, New York, Florida, San Marcos and now L.A, where he currently resides. In an interview with Fader , Kevin mentions how much he loved highschool, and this love for highschool and the feeling of youth has a strong presence on his new album.

Kevin announced his album at the start of 2015, though at the time, it was to be titled Death of a Supermodel (this name ended up being used as the name of his tour). Later in the year, it was revealed that DOASM was being scrapped in favour of a new album titled They Shoot Horses. Near the end of 2015, Kevin dropped the first single for They Shoot Horses, titled "Echo". About 6 months later, Kevin finally made up his mind on the album's title and announced that he was changing the name to American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story. Between this announcement and the release of the album, he released three more singles titled "Empty", "Yellow" and "Miserable America". "Echo" remained on the album, though a re-worked version appeared on the final cut. Boyfriend was released on November 18th, 2016.

In 2016, hip hop artists tend to feel considerable pressure to release music rapidly—taking too long between projects can result in said artist losing relevance. Taking two and a half years between your first and second project can mean the end of your career if your second album isn't up to snuff. Kevin has done just that, and has come back with an album even better than his last, which has garnered him much deserved buzz in the industry. In just a couple short years, Kevin Abstract has gone from a nameless face on Tumblr, to performing at his idols festival this year when he showed up on Tyler, the Creators Camp Flog Gnaw Festival's set list. If Kevin has made this much progress in just two years, his ceiling in the industry could potentially be enormous.

Review by /u/Cohtoh

On American Boyfriend, Kevin Abstract takes his influences and melds them into something beautiful and new sounding. Pulling from artists like Frank Ocean, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Childish Gambino, Kurt Cobain and more, Kevin was able to create an album that is impossible to pin down to one genre. American Boyfriend amalgamates genres such as hip hop, indie pop, indie rock and RnB into one heavy hearted project that only further demonstrates Kevin's immense talent and artistic vision. Perhaps the most important influence on American Boyfriend is Frank Ocean. I think it's safe to say that without Frank, this album doesn't exist. Or at the very least, it wouldn't sound anything like it does. When Frank revealed his sexuality to the world in 2012, he changed the lives of many fans, one of which was Kevin. The biggest topic of Boyfriend is Kevin's sexuality and him coming to terms with it, as well as his family and friends response and feelings towards it. Kevin goes into Frank Oceans influence on him in the aforementioned Fader interview:

"I remember exactly where I was when I read it," the 20-year-old told me during a recent visit to Brooklyn. It was a gray day, and we were huddled in a cramped doorway of an office building to escape some rain, sitting on the cement floor. His hair, dyed green, stood up in polyps like a soft coral reef. "I had just had my first experience with a dude," he remembered. Abstract was around 16 at the time, and though he wouldn't openly discuss his sexuality for another couple years, Ocean's honesty changed his trajectory forever. "It was just like, Thank you. It saved me."

Frank coming out allowed for Kevin to do the same of sorts with this album. Though he had mentioned his sexuality before in various social media posts, Boyfriend was the first time Kevin had ever addressed it so directly and emotively in his music.

As mentioned earlier, lyrically, this album focuses almost entirely on Kevin's struggle with his sexuality and the emotions that have risen from that struggle. The lyrics on this album exemplify the mixed feelings he has about his sexuality and the issues it has caused in his personal life. For example, he claims his mother his homophobic and doesn't have much love for him, yet he still loves her. His sexuality, and perhaps his decision to become a musician has had obvious strain on his home life, as he details them in the second verse of "Tattoo":

"My dad tried to tell me that I'm not functional,

I gotta bunch of homies but not a bunch of homes.

Said come back home to an empty home,

I gotta different home my home is fake."

Kevin's "coming out" on this album feels exactly the way it should at his age. Confusing, bittersweet, difficult and havoc causing. Occasionally it feels as though he has accepted himself and his lifestyle, while at other moments it feels as though he still contains a sense of shame and sadness about himself, as he even goes as far as to wishing he was straight on "Papercut". He seems confident in singing about his lack of regret for accepting his sexuality on "Seventeen" and claims he "takes everything for what it is and never tries to change it" on "Papercut, yet then speaks on how claustrophobic he feels, and how he doesn't feel accepted in America because of his sexuality on "Miserable America". American Boyfriend does a fantastic job of showing us both sides of the spectrum of emotions that are consequential to accepting yourself, and striving for others to accept you as well. Kevin is exceedingly honest and leaves nothing hidden from the listeners, which in my opinion, strengthens the album immensely.

The last track on the album, "I Do (End Credits)" is particularly interesting, as it seems to be making a statement as to what he wishes hip hop was, or what he envisions hip hop to be in the future. All the bars in this track are pitched up, and feature perhaps the most "traditional hip hop" sound in terms of their delivery. The lyrics seem to be emulating certain rap tropes "westsiiiide!, piling up money, robbing people", topics that Kevin has never addressed in his music before, but amongst the "rap trope" lyrics, are aspects of acceptance and confidence in his homosexuality. The opening line: "Who the fuck is you, talkin shit about my husband?" exemplify this perfectly. Kevin envisions a world where homosexuality is just as accepted as heterosexuality in hip hop, and one in which you can make a song with "classic hip hop tropes" while still pridefully maintaining your sexual identity.

Production wise, this album is all over the grid. There are sounds of alternative rock and indie pop on tracks like "American Boyfriend", "June 29th" and "Yellow", some messy jazz elements on "Blink" and more synthetic, electronic elements on tracks like "Runner" and "Suburbian Born". For some, this may be unfavorable as it seems to bounce between genres but it's one of my favorite aspects about this album. When he raps over this production, it doesn't feel like a rap verse tacked onto a different genre, it feels seamless and smooth, like that rapping was meant to be on the track. The instrumentation is accessible to the average listener, but still maintains a sense of experimentalism when paired with Kevin's vocals.

Boyfriend also features some interesting variance in song structure. While it's still got the typical verse-chorus-verse structure in many songs, it also features a handful of songs like "Suburbia Born", "Friendship", "June 29th" and "Kin" that are either a single verse, or a mere snippet. "Kin" actually did end up getting a full release later. Unlike a project like New English by Desiigner, these brief tracks don't feel like a slew of rushed, half-baked ideas, they seem to have a bit more artistic integrity to them, perhaps signifying brief moments in Kevin's life. On the fully formed songs, the album features some great, catchy choruses on songs like "Yellow" "American Boyfriend" and "Empty", with the latter being one of my favorite hooks of the year, really one that sounds like it would sound fantastic being screamed out in a crowd at a show. Kevin manages to pull off these catchy choruses while still maintaining meaning in them, which is always something to be commended for. My favorite track on the album, "Runner" features some of the most experimental vocals from Kevin and perhaps the catchiest hook from Roy Mabie over synthy production that creates a certain aura to it as it builds up to a climax with the hook. The track somehow manages to sound extremely dark and moody, yet still upbeat and enjoyable with bouncy guitar riffs and brief, hard hitting drums before ending with a few Kanye-esque horns.

One of my favorite characteristics of American Boyfriend is its length. I've always been a fan of short albums, as they tend to contain less filler and are easy to sit down and listen to front to back with no breaks in between. At 37 minutes, this album is the perfect length. Not a single minute is wasted, a multitude of different genres and sounds are explored, and every track adds more and more insight into Kevin's emotions and insecurities as he struggles through a sensitive portion of his life. Kevin's passion, honesty and diversity is what has made American Boyfriend my album of the year, and I can't wait to see what else he has in store for us.

Favorite lyrics by /u/Cohtoh:

"Feel like jumping off the building,

Feel like saying "Fuck your parents"

Son don't feel 'em and I know they never will

They love gays but they hate niggas

What else are we to do rather than talk and paint a picture

I told that nigga before I even tried to tell myself

I wish you thought of me the way you thought about yourself

Hella help, wish 'em well"

  • Miserable America

"Known you for some time but it feels brand new

Try and go forget but we did that too

And I won't ever let you go

Ay dog got some problems we could runaway from

Search for a tree that you could hang on, stay down

Watch myself, watch myself watching you you"

  • Seventeen

"My parents wanna kill me, let them kill me

I'll finally be on TV"

  • American Boyfriend

Discussion Points:

Favorite tracks?

How does this album compare to MTV1987 for you? How about compared to BrockHamptons's debut this year?

Where would you like Kevin to go from here?

Kevin isn't the type of artist to impress you with rhyme schemes or double entendres, instead he focuses on honesty and emotional strength. Does this bother you? Would you prefer a more bar-heavy project from him or do you think this style is the most appropriate for him?

Will Kevin have to change his subject matter up from struggling with his sexuality in order to make another great album, or are you okay with hearing more about it?

Do you prefer the original Echo or the album version?

Thanks for taking the time to read my write up! I'll post the schedule in the comments.

submitted by /u/Cohtoh
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