Boomiverse

''Boomiverse'' is the third studio album by American rapper Big Boi. The album was released on June 16, 2017, by HITCO. . The album features guest appearances from Adam Levine, Jeezy, Killer Mike, Gucci Mane, and Curren$y. It contains production from frequent collaborators Organized Noise, DJ Dahi, Dr. Luke, and Scott Storch, among others. It was supported by the release of three singles – "Mic Jack" featuring Adam Levine, Scar and Sleepy Brown, "Kill Jill" featuring Killer Mike and Jeezy, and " All Night". The latter is Big Boi's highest charting single as a lead artist. The trio of singles were released by Epic Records, though the album itself was released by L.A. Reid's Hitco.

Background

After the release of '' Big Grams'' (2015), a collaborative extended play (EP) from rapper Big Boi and rock band Phantogram, Big Boi began writing for his upcoming third solo studio album. He cited influences on the album which included Kate Bush and A Tribe Called Quest. On April 19, 2017, he revealed the title for the album and released the first two singles, "Mic Jack" featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Scar and Sleepy Brown and "Kill Jill" featuring Jeezy and Killer Mike of Run the Jewels two days later.

On May 16, 2017, he revealed that ''Boomiverse'' was scheduled for release on June 16, 2017, and includes guest appearances from Gucci Mane, Janelle Monáe, among others. A music video for "Kill Jill" was released on June 2, 2017.

The song "All Night" was featured in an iPhone X commercial in November 2017.

Critical reception

''Boomiverse'' received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70, based on 13 reviews. Jayson Greene of ''Pitchfork'' commented: "''Boomiverse'' doesn't have the same freewheeling, blitzkrieg energy as '' Sir Lucious'', but it reestablishes Big Boi as a dependable record maker who will always make music worth checking for, no matter what else is going on around him. He's not really in a position to be competing against Migos on rap radio, and he doesn't want to, at all." Alex Macpherson of ''The Guardian'' stated: "A sprinkling of electro bleeps throws ''Boomiverse'' back to the 1980s and on irresistible highlight Chocolate, Big Boi morphs into Missy Elliott in her house-dabbling phase. He's careful to drop a Future reference here and borrow Kendrick Lamar's cadence there to root it in the present, but ''Boomiverse''s self-conscious stylistic plurality is the new old-school. "All Night", simultaneously too wacky and too obvious, is a moment to cringe at, but for the most part this is dad rap that can hold its head high."

Nastia Voynovskaya of ''Paste Magazine'' commented: "''Boomiverse'' is an exuberant record that dabbles in different subgenres of hip-hop to emerge with a crisp, cohesive final product that stays true to Big Boi's roots while cultivating an up-to-date sound. With Outkast collaborators Organized Noize handling the majority of the album's production, ''Boomiverse'' is steeped in the classic Southern sound that predated what we know as trap music today. The album is far from the work of a legend resting on his laurels; instead, its inventive and genuinely fun sound makes a compelling case for why, 20 years after his debut, we should still be paying attention to Big Boi."

Will Lavin of ''Clash Magazine'' praised Big Boi's lyricism and production style: "Laced with complex rhyme styles and diverse lyrical content ''Boomiverse'' is a welcomed return for Daddy Fat Sack. Walking a thin line between pretty much every musical genre known to mankind, don't be surprised when on ''Boomiverse'' one minute you’re breaking your neck on a bed of 808s, electro drum patterns and screaming synths and the next you're kicking back to a selection of funky rhythms, sax solos and acoustic guitars."

''Exclaim!'' critic Erin Lowers commented that "Big Boi continues to reinvent himself, and the ''Boomiverse'' signifies something of a new start. And while new beginnings aren't without their flaws, Big Boi's lyrical prowess and effortless delivery provide the thread that link the old Big Boi universe to this, the ''Boomiverse''."

Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* "Kill Jill" features background vocals from Rock D the Legend and Hatsune Miku.
* "Mic Jack" and "In the South" features background vocals from Miss C.C. LaFlor
* "Order of Operations" features background vocals from Eric Bellinger.
* "Get Wit It" features background vocals from Scar and Miss C.C. LaFlor.
* "Freakanomics" features background vocals from Sleepy Brown, Ian Kirkpatrick, Scar and Sean Douglas.

Charts

References

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2017 albums
Big Boi albums
Epic Records albums
Albums produced by Cirkut
Albums produced by DJ Dahi
Albums produced by DJ Khalil
Albums produced by Dr. Luke
Albums produced by Mannie Fresh
Albums produced by Organized Noize
Albums produced by Scott Storch
Albums produced by TM88
Albums produced by Beat Butcha