Kodak Black has been on an incredible run as of late. While his EPs & mixtapes have had their moments, they were missing the strengths that he brought on his previous efforts. A lot of that lied within that his transparency, that’s why Institution remains one of his strongest works to date. His abilities to craft a hook & flow seem effortless, and his clearness of his lifestyle’s struggles being in & out of the system leave his heart bare in all of his music.
With the run of singles he has been on, he laid everything out for the world to see & hear. Documenting his beef with Jackboy over multiple tracks, we saw a fire lit underneath him. On the new album, we see him dealing with the aftermath.
It all kicks off on “Let Me Know,” where he reflects on his current position. He may be on top of the world, starting a new label & seeing new levels of wealth, but problems have arisen with the people in his life. Leading to him cutting out others, Kodak details anything from his jail struggles to deaths around him. It has a hook, but only at the end, with the focus being on the lone verse. Acting as a fantastic reintroduction to Kodak’s life, he brings it us back into his world like we never left.
Kodak Black – Let Me Know
Plenty of the tracks here go into his love for the street life that he can’t seem to leave. He’s able to capture all the highs on lows, “Hitting Houses” & “He Love The Streets” show off both sides his mindset. “Hitting Houses” captures the drug filled highs & regretless happiness he feels from stealing. Yet at the same time, he gives clarity & regret on “He Loves The Streets” where he wants to the escape. He’s seen others rise & fall within it, and he recognizes he’s in the perfect position to leave, but can’t seem to escape. Its his most straight forward rap on the album, and possibly one of his best raps to date.
Kodak Black – Hitting Houses
Not every song lands unfortunately, tracks like “Grinding All Season” feel like they were made for only himself. His lyrics are as strong as ever, but features one of his worst performances to date. His flow is absolutely obnoxious & the beat is completely blown out in an very unappealing way. While its nice that Kodak details his love on “Love Isn’t Enough,” he once again uses autotune in the most grating way possible.
Back For Everything is not an album that should be skipped in Kodak’s catalogue. Its his most transparent since Dying To Live & the highs of the album are too great to ignore. It does suffer from some his worst performances to date, making it far from his best album, but he’s strengths as an artist shine once again. As the album infers, his focus shift from street life to music & legality might be hints towards a Kodak that’s more on point than ever before. With that in mind, and a discography that can go to with many other greats, his new shift might mean his best work has yet to come.