When listening to Anderson .Paak’s new album, we are exposed to numerous changes in musical influence, production, flow and subject matter; not just from song to song, but even within a single track. Has the concept of the “track” therefore become outdated and, if so, should we care?
It’s creeping into most big releases in the Hip-hop and R&B world: the change-up. Mid-song, or indeed mid-verse, listeners are taken in a completely different musical direction by artists. Its use is widespread on Anderson .Paak’s “Malibu”, and some, including a dear friend of mine, suggest this shows a lack of creativity in that .Paak is incapable of, or seemingly ambivalent towards, building a track towards what feels like an organic conclusion. But is this line of argument predicated on an outdated line of thinking about the concept of a “track”?
In exploring the reasons for changing up flows on a song in the Hip-hop world, historically at least, the argument was simple: a rapper/MC’s ultimate aim is trying to prove that he is better than his peers. What better way to do that, than showing off as many skills as possible? Although the song is slightly tongue in cheek, “Boom” by the Roots exemplifies this, with Black Thought mimicking different legendary MCs’ flows to perfection. Want a Big Daddy Kane verse? Easy. Kool G Rap next? No problem. The underlying message: “I deserve to be part of the discussion of the best to ever do it.”
More creative use of the change-up can be found on songs where a story is being told from multiple characters or perspectives. Kendrick Lamar on “Sing about me” or Eminem on “Stan” saw those artists playing multiple characters on one track, but over the same beat. This narrative tool applies to R&B too, but Frank Ocean took it to another level on “Pyramids” which had two songs on one track and different styles for the different stories told; the first half a club track with a narrative about ancient Egypt and the concluding half taking the listener to the strip club.
So does it make sense on “Malibu” (an album that I compare to Ocean’s “Channel Orange” in terms of feel/mood)? I think you’d give a more favourable answer if you see .Paak as a singing rapper; on that argument, he’s just showing off what he can do. If you see him as a rapping singer, then it’s arguably less impressive as the change in styles on a track like “The Season/Carry Me”doesn’t add much to the listener’s experience (comparing it directly to Ocean’s effort).
However, the importance of this falls away if you place less emphasis on the concept of a “track”, which seems to be eroded more year on year. Look at Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo”, or Kendrick Lamar’s new album/mixtape, “Untitled Unmastered” (the latter is admittedly a collection of demos and unmastered songs), where a “track” can include three different songs on it, for the current state of play in this regard. Ultimately, variation from the classic album and track formula makes for a more varied and exciting listen. Does an album or song become less cohesive as a result? This could be argued either way, depending on what you’re listening to.
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