Colors (mixtape)

''Colors'' is a mixtape by American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again. It was released through Never Broke Again and Atlantic Records on January 21, 2022. The mixtape features a sole guest appearance from Quando Rondo. The deluxe edition was released on the same day, containing an additional guest appearance from Internet Money. Producer Cheese mixed, mastered, and engineered every track on the standard edition of the mixtape, with Lawrence Rivers also engineering "Gangsta", which features Quando Rondo. For the deluxe edition, "Flossin", his Internet Money collaboration, was mixed by Jeremie Inhaber and Francisco Salcido, mastered by Inhaber, and engineered by Mark Dorflinger. ''Colors'' was preceded by its lead single "Bring the Hook".

Commercially, ''Colors'' debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 80,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, becoming YoungBoy's eighth top-ten album on the chart.

Release and promotion

On January 5, 2022, YoungBoy released the promotional single, "Fish Scale", alongside the official music video, in anticipation of the then-upcoming mixtape. Exactly one week later, on January 12, 2022, he officially announced ''Colors'' and its release date. Alongside the announcement, he released the lead single, "Bring the Hook", alongside the official music video. The single "Flossin", a collaboration with American record label and record producer collective Internet Money, was released on January 21, 2022, the same day as the mixtape, and is included on its deluxe edition.

Other songs

Before the release of ''Colors'', YoungBoy released a few songs from the mixtape with music videos to his YouTube channel, which were not officially released. The first visual was for "Emo Rockstar", which was released on December 22, 2021. He then released the music video for "Emo Love" on January 7, 2022. The visual for "Foolish Figure" was released two days later, on January 9, 2022. The final unofficial song with a music video was "Know Like I Know", which was released on January 18, 2022.

Critical reception

''Colors'' received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for ''AllMusic'', Paul Simpson felt that "the release allows YoungBoy to show off his range, from aggressive trap to more pop-leaning melodic tracks." Concluding his review, he notes "While staying true to YoungBoy's style, this is one of his more accessible releases." Paul A. Thompson from ''Pitchfork'' began his review by stating that "YoungBoy continues to push himself to vocal extremes—in addition to that familiar growl and effusive harmonizing." He notes that ''Colors'' is stiched together by "YoungBoy’s willingness to lay bare the most tortured parts of his psyche." Concluding his review, he states "meaningfully synthesize (or even thoughtfully arrange) its disparate parts, a generous listener might find the volatility of YoungBoy’s emotions from one song to the next an interesting thread on its own." Anthony Malone from ''HipHopDX'' notes that ''Colors'' "sees YoungBoy more conflicted than ever, saying one thing but acting the opposite." He continues to write that "Cuts such as “2Hoo,” “DC Marvel” and “Expensive Taste” are filled with shallow romanticism and descriptions of a sex life that’s better suited on the down-low," and "On “Dis & That,” YoungBoy sounds like he’s on autopilot and falling back on production that’s stale and repetitive." He concludes his review by writing: "''Colors'' suffer from an overabundance of songs that inflates the project, ruining what could be a more digestible project if the fat was trimmed."

Commercial performance

''Colors'' debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, earning 80,000 album-equivalent units (including under 2,000 in pure sales) in its first week, according to MRC Data. This became YoungBoy's eighth top-10 album on the chart. YoungBoy also became the fastest rapper in history to chart 20 albums on the ''Billboard'' 200, accomplishing this feat under four and a half years after first appearing on the chart. ''Colors'' has sold 500,000 album-equivalent units so far.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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2022 mixtape albums
YoungBoy Never Broke Again albums
Atlantic Records albums
Albums produced by Taz Taylor (record producer)
Albums produced by OG Parker
Pop-rap albums
Emo rap albums