Gilda - Kemba

Released September 20, 2019

6.5 / 10

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Favorites

What A Day, Who Would've Thought, The Feels (feat. Portugal. The Man)

Least favorites

Dysfunction, Deadass, Last Year Being Broke

Bronx-born rapper Kemba, formerly known as YC the Cynic, offers his major label debut album to the memory of his mother, in an introspective effort that feels cathartic at times. Gilda, Kemba's mother and title of the album, passed away in 2017 as Kemba started working on the album, which resulted in a work dedicated to her sacrifices and the lives of people Kemba grew up with. Centerfold is the figure of Gilda, acknowledgements of her impact and reacting to her death. Captain Planet is the first track on "Gilda" that announces how much the songwriting was done through the prism of the devastating news of her passing away. Sonics mirror the lyrics to a point where it distracts a bit from the seriousness of the subject matter. Dysfunction is another example of putting the event in perspective, accounting for chance factors in other aspects of Kemba's life. A sad one no doubt but musically lackluster. Perhaps it is Feels that addresses grief and living through it most sincerely. Set to an interesting backdrop, the beat evolves and gets richer until a point where the sonics explode and culminate in a dense harmonic cluster from which Portugal. The Man's lead vocals emerge and end the song on a strong note. Through introspection, Kemba is also able to remember his come-up and address the injustice of the broken system he has known all his life. He insists on playing up the humility factor by way of intro track Work In Progress, reminding the listener that while he has a lot to say he also has a lot to learn. It's easy to forget this message as soon as the dark banger Nobody I Can Trust kicks in. His rap overflows as he doesn't shy away from topics of systemic bias and police brutality. The overarching theme is one of isolation, through a combination of living through the stages of grief in a world that doesn't fully recognize the need for it especially for those it constantly antagonizes. This idea also transpires in the short Kanye-inspired Who Would've Thought, sounding more like an evident truth than a stance or judgement on its perpetrators. In this respect, closing track Alive ends on a grateful, uplifting note that resonates as a willful self-fulfilling prophecy more than as an optimistic outlook. The song works within the context of "Gilda" with crisp RnB vocals from Eric Bellinger but I can't help but wonder if it would have had the same impact as a standalone song. Despite its moments of clarity, "Gilda" is riding a fine line between inspiration and monotony. While some songs manage to surprise (Exhale rises out of a frankly boring sound by Smino's intricate and playful lyrical game, accompanied by a luxurious musical texture; just as What A Day gets the listener wondering if Kemba thought the gloom of the organ was enough to arouse and feed interest in the track before turning around on itself), too many never take off. Kemba's flow doesn't save unfortunate Peter Pan and its monotonous piano loop. The come-and-go of percussions to re-vitalize the song has the power of a poorly-administered CPR. Deadass and Last Year Being Broke are barely worth mentioning if not to emphasize that despite its great potential "Gilda" is more of a stepping stone for a work in progress than a finished product.

Favorite lyrics

"Why the fuck you playin' Kesha?"

Peter Pan

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