Heartbreaks for artists usually results in very good music. That statement is proven time after time.. Not always but time after time it is.. And it’s proven in Connor Donovan’s “Nobody” album for sure.
Connor jampacked “Nobody” with dope love ballads and heavy bars explaining a relationship he dealt with, the heartbreak from it and the person he became from it. But we should’ve known we were going to get that back when he released the lead single for the album.
Tracks like: Love Harder, December, Important Music, Empty, 812 and Lucid, Baby stand out the most. These are the same tracks that best show his musical potential while showing where he’s at musically now.
Love Harder is the intro and sets the precedent of the album well. It’s just five minutes of authentic wave. It previews the next 9 tracks for us and displays his rapping side and singing side, at the same time, just like the rest of Nobody. Then over some vintage Jay Z-like production, Connor slows down the flow and uses some mesmerizing melodies on December.
On 812, he takes a little escape from the love story and decides to talk to one his boys, who’s in prison, through his music. “Buy this whole world, yo I swear I gotta win/Tuxedos, red bottoms, fuck the clothes they got you in/You’re a king my g, I’m never cryin over you/Yo I sing my g, on everything my g/See I woke up that morning and I was missin my girl/So selfish ’cause you probably woke up missin the world” he raps.
While “Nobody” is a deep, personal album and sticks to mainly one subject, it lets us know his ceiling is high. Rapping.. Singing.. Mixing both effectively and effortlessly. Nobody (no pun intended) singing a hook for him. He did them all by himself. No guest verses from anyone. And while no features on a full-length project is out of the ordinary in today’s Hip Hop he gets away with it squeaky clean… There’s not 1000 different producers. Nor is Connor looking for a radio hit or club banger. He’s simply shinning light on a dark moment in his life while giving us quality music in the process.
My favorite track out of the ten is probably: “August“. It’s one of the records that highlight his ability to just flatout rap but then again showcases his talent to let his vocals float over some wavy, trippy production from Shepard (who produced 80% of the album- with the exception of Heartbreak Sounds Like and 812). The hook to the song is catchy and hypnotizing too. It gets you singing along the second time around. “Our time is but a trap, so why you trippin on it?/That cup looks sorta full, you should be sippin on it/I never use to care it makes me different don’t it?/Know you thinkin ’bout it right now”. Not to mention, the flows used are refreshing and new plus they fit the beat to perfection.
Putting everything in the music, Connor uses no filter on this album but there’s also no filler on this project. There’s no skippable songs and the replay value is there too.
All in all.. Nobody is an enjoyable album even though the content is mostly dark. Anyone that appreciates Hip Hop or good music will find themselves replaying it a couple times. It’s like Kid Cudi and Mac Miller got mixed in a blender then poured over smooth, melodic production platforms that are from the undeniably new school but are influenced from the old school.
as seen on ESSNTLS
