Ty Dolla $ign: Campaign ALBUM REVIEW

West Coast crooner Ty Dolla $ign is on a campaign. Now, considering the fact that here in America we are currently in the process of determining who are next president will be (for better or worse), one might get the idea that this new album titled Campaign, might be about politics. Which it is.... for a few moments here and there. In fact, aside from the intro track, the track "No Justice" and a couple of skits on a couple of other tracks, there's literally nothing else on this album lyrically that give the impression that Ty wants to say anything other than "I have a lot of money and I sleep with a lot of women". Don't get me wrong, I think he does the latter exceptionally well, especially on this album, but I feel like it was a slight misstep framing this album as some kind of political statement, because it takes peoples attention away from just enjoying the music here, because this is some of the finest modern R&B music I've heard come out in a while.

I also realize that that last statement might make some people mad. Ty incorporates a lot of rap and trap styles in his music, plus his lyrical content is a bit crass, which may cause people to label simply as a rapper who sings, or some kind of features artist. But I think Ty on this new album is embracing, at least sonically, some more oldschool influences, which leads to some really classy cuts like "Stealing" and "Juice", both of which are incredibly soulful and smooth. And then there's my two personal favorite tracks (I just couldn't pick one), the Travis Scott produced/ featured "3 Wayz"; this track has such great production, probably Travis Scott's best work since Rodeo, and the hook here is stellar as well. Then there is "Zaddy"... slow jam of the year, that's all I'm gonna say.

And for the most part that's how this album operates, gliding from one smooth R&B track to the next with the occasional rap track here and there, which aren't bad either, especially the grimy "???(Where it's at)", and to mention the track "No Justice" again, this track is not only the albums strongest political statement, but it is a fantastically produced track as well, really powerful stuff.

Alltogether I'd say that this album is great, aside from a few stumbles here and there, such as the obvious filler of "R&B" and the somewhat redundant "Clean". And hey, I think in such times of extreme political tension, maybe Ty's campaign is to give us an album to let us all relax and vibe out to?

9.0/10