Def Jam Recordings signed rapper Logic and released his sophomore album titled The Incredible True Story. After the highly acclaimed debut album, Under Pressure, was released just two years ago, The Incredible True Story, which was previously to be released in the beginning of this year, has just been officially released last month. This concept album alternates between narrative “scenes,” which tell a futuristic story about the two main characters, Quentin Thomas and William Kai, traveling to a planet, Paradise, as part of a mission and the actual tracks of the album. Logic is known for having an eclectic source of inspiration for everything from his lyrics to his sampling and now his script writing. The story of the album has an uncanny resemblance to that of the film Interstellar released earlier this year. Although Logic has been criticized for copying the styles of his contemporaries, he has succeeded in developing a concept that would distinguish him within the hip hop industry.
Where typical concept albums have overarching themes that are woven into the lyrics of the songs, the story of The Incredible True Story is clearly separated from the songs on the album. Although Logic frequently references space in his verses, the movie-like dialogue serves as comic relief between tracks, rather than a continuation of them. Some may say that Logic bit off more than he could chew in releasing a concept album, but The Incredible True Story is well thought out which prevents these two elements from being conflicting. This blend between the comedic and interesting narrative and the contemplative songs on the album is something that not many artists attempt and The Incredible True Story stands out for accomplishing this.
The album starts with a track titled Contact, a possible reference to the science fiction movie of the same title. This track creates a dramatic opening with symphonic melodies and a scene introducing the concept of the album within the same track. Similarly, the second track, “Fade Away”, follows this structure of a song before leading into a short scene. The structure of these two tracks appeals to listeners who are not so sold on the concept of this concept album. By having scenes after the songs on the same track, listeners can simply skip after the song is over to the next track and avoid listening to the scenes if they do not want to. This is another result of the album being well thought-out rather than hastily thrown together.
The instrumentals and sampling used in tracks like “Stainless”, “Innermission”, and title track “The Incredible True Story” are all a result of good production and translate the futuristic concept into the tracks well.
While songs like “Fade Away”, “Young Jesus”, “Like Woah”, and “Never Been” show Logic’s ability to deliver clean verses with clever punch lines, “I Am The Greatest” contrasts with Logic’s typical avoidance of clichés like outright bragging and self-flattery. The track also stands as the lowest point in the album because it lends itself to Drake comparisons and uses samples that do not fit with the sound of the song as a whole.
