Words by Keane Fletcher
Our modern internet-obsessed lives can feel a little silly sometimes. Laughs becoming lols, showing empathy becoming as easy as hitting the 'like' button; even our own genitals have given themselves up to the cause and become emojis (I'm looking at you eggplant). But that's where an artist like bbno$ comes in, who's latest album eat ya veggies understands this kind of silliness and channels it into a series of tracks that never lose sight of the bottom line: share-ability.
For starters, bbno$ knows his way around the internet. Consider this: his music has been streamed over 2 billion times, his clips have been watched over 1.5 billion times, and his songs have been used in over 10 million Tik Tok videos. This is someone who knows what catches, who knows what people with limited attention spans are looking for, and who knows how to deliver it with panache. eat ya veggies is the perfect example.
Opening with the braggadocio-infused 'resume' before the one-two punch of previously released singles 'yoga' ft. Rebecca Black and 'edamame' ft. Rich Brian, the first third of the album bristles with intelligence and swagger, traversing such genres as roots, disco and ska without even breaking a sweat. bbno$ knows his music so well he's free to throw the rulebook out the window. I mean, who could resist a song with the refrain:
Hey little mamma, yeah you heard about me?/ I'ma pop you like a pea, yeah, edamame...
In bbno$'s world silliness and sexiness go hand in hand. It's like a dirty nursery rhyme! Are the kids doing a dance to it yet?
That being said, the album's middle does tend to drag a bit: 'black eyed pees' is a perfectly fine tongue-in-cheek meme generator (fav line: 'cause my dick game le labo, yeah it cost a couple pounds'), however the braggadocio can start to wear a bit thin here especially with the album's centre trio of 'brainless', 'u mad', and '2 time zones' ft. Night Lovell, a series of tracks that -- while fun -- feel like they add unnecessary bulk to the album. Thankfully, bbno$ steers himself towards a more ominous tone with 'check up', a song that seems more interested in the darker side of living hard and fast, while 'big boss baby' sees bbno$ at his most panicked and petulant. 'i remember' is probably as close as we get to a big breakup song on the album, and when it comes it feels like relief, a welcome slice of vulnerability in an otherwise bombastic record.
All and all the album doesn't take itself too seriously. These are songs that are designed to pop hard and fast; indeed most of them come in at just over two minutes, fizzing like the first pop of Prosecco on a hot summer's day. I only wish they had a bit more weight to keep them from floating off and being forgotten.
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