''Afrikantis'' is the third instrumental album by the American rapper

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), known professionally as Lil B and Lil B The BasedGod, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the Berkeley, California-based hip hop group the Pack in 2005, who signed wi ...

, released through Basedworld on December 22, 2022. A

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

album, it marks a stylistic departure for Lil B, who would usually release

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

mixtapes. He had experimented with production in the past; he released the instrumental albums '' Choices and Flowers'' and ''Tears 4 God'' in 2012, and self-produced some of his later mixtapes. Compared to the

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

and

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

production of his previous instrumental releases, ''Afrikantis'' is less connected to musical concepts such as

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

. The album was received poorly by critics, who mainly criticized its discordant instrumentation.

Background and release

Since embarking on his solo career in 2008,

frequently released

mixtapes. In 2012, he released the instrumental albums '' Choices and Flowers'' and ''Tears 4 God'', which both featured

and

production. In the following years, Lil B continued to experiment with production—his mixtapes '' Black Ken'' (2017) and ''Platinum Flame'' (2018) were entirely self-produced. The year 2022 was a relatively slow period for Lil B, with the release of ''Frozen'' and ''The Frozen Tape'' in June, followed by ''Thraxxx Kiss'' in July. Without prior announcement, he released ''Afrikantis'' on December 22, 2022, via Basedworld.

Composition

''Afrikantis'' is an instrumental

album with elements of

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and electro jazz. It was entirely produced, mixed, and engineered by Lil B, and is a departure from his usual hip hop sound. The album consists of 14 tracks, and has a runtime of 72 minutes. Compared to Lil B's previous instrumental releases, ''Afrikantis'' is less connected to musical concepts such as

and

. Critics compared the album's sound to ''

On the Corner ''On the Corner'' is a studio album by the American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis. It was recorded in June and July 1972 and released on October 11 of that year by Columbia Records. The album continued Davis' exploration of ...

'' (1972) by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, ''

Head Hunters ''Head Hunters'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and D ...

'' (1973) by

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, and the "orchestral

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970 ...

purveyed by

James Ferraro James Ferraro (born November 7, 1986) is an American experimental musician, producer, composer, and contemporary artist. He has been credited as a pioneer of the 21st century genres hypnagogic pop and vaporwave, with his work exploring themes rel ...

and Orange Milk Records". The opening tracks, "My Fathers Drums" and "A Song for Mom" feature dissonant

trumpets The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B o ...

and

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

crashes. The following song, "Cricket", contains

panpipe A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, and was described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'''s Sam Goldner as "the most dialed-in of the bunch". "Kim" opens with beating

bongos Bongos (Spanish language, Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cubans, Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' ...

, and features rhythms reminiscent of

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. In the middle of the song, increasingly discordant synthesized samples are layered on top of each other. "Albany Middle" is followed by " Solano Stroll", which rides a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

that Goldner described as "strange" and "slanted". A staff member from ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

'' wrote that the song "Del the Funky Homosapien" sounded like it could be used as a backing track for its namesake, an American rapper. Steve "Flash" Juon of ''RapReviews'' wrote that the song "Guinea Pig Arcade" is a mix of

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

slaps, "a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

picking

jamboree In Scouting, a jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts and/or Girl Guides who rally at a national or international level. History The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held in 1920, and was hosted by the United Kingdom. Since then, there have been t ...

", and "randomly chosen notes from the high end of a synthesizer". The last four tracks are named after locations in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

—Lil B's home state—and feature instrumentals which have a more hip-hop-like sound. Goldner described "Welcome to Oakland California", the penultimate song, as "a cacophony of car alarms, shattering glass, and police sirens".

Critical reception

''Afrikantis'' was received poorly by critics. While some praised the album for its originality, it was widely criticized for its clashing and "cheap" production. Juon described ''Afrikantis'' as "the audio version of the

infinite monkey theorem The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys independently and at randomness, random on a typewriter keyboard for an infinity, infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, including the complete works of Willi ...

", and felt it highlighted Lil B's weak production skills. He named "Eurasia" one of the most "listenable" tracks on the album, but still criticized the song for trying to mix styles "that don't really fit together". Goldner called ''Afrikantis'' an "ocean of hopelessly annoying slop" and criticized its instrumentation, saying it was "seemingly recorded with the cheapest

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

presets on the market". A ''Sputnikmusic'' staff member wrote "I’m most likely never going to listen to ''Afrikantis'' again", but commended the album's humor and novelty.

Track listing

Notes

References

{{Lil B 2022 albums Jazz albums Lil B albums