Under Pressure (album)

Under Pressure
Studio album by Logic
Released October 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)[1]
Recorded 2014
Genre Hip hop
Length 56:23
Label
Producer
Logic chronology
Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever
(2013)		 Under Pressure
(2014)		 The Incredible True Story
(2015)
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Under Pressure
  1. "Under Pressure"
    Released: September 16, 2014
  2. "Buried Alive"
    Released: October 14, 2014

Under Pressure is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Logic. It was released on October 21, 2014, by Visionary Music Group, distributed by Def Jam Recordings. The album was developed and composed over several years, however, it was recorded over a period of two weeks, beginning in early 2014. The album's production was primarily handled by No I.D., and oversaw a wide range of involvement by various producers including 6ix, DJ Dahi, DJ Khalil, S1, Jake One and Dun Deal. The album also saw no guest appearances on the standard edition of the album, with only Big Sean and Childish Gambino being credited with vocal contributions on the album's deluxe edition.

Logic sought to establish an album that was able to appear both "beautiful, musical and melodic" and to also include "raw lyricism". In order to establish his desired sound, he wrote lyrics that were concerned with introspection, analyzing himself by exploring his ambivalent outlook on his newfound fame, family, self-consciousness, success and addiction. He had hoped to provide an autobiography which detailed explicit scenarios and experiences that impacted him during his rise in the music industry. The album was promoted by the critically acclaimed singles "Under Pressure" and "Buried Alive", each elaborating on Logic's hardships in and out of his musical career.

Under Pressure received generally positive reviews from critics, drawing particular attention to the Logic's bluntness in his storytelling, its perceptive lyricism, and the album's toned down production, which resembled the ever changing production seen in hip hop releases in the 1990s. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 72,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.

Background

Between 2010 and 2013, Logic released four free mixtapes online and funded his own tours, through which he built his fanbase and reputation.[2][3] According to Logic, the largest factor of his rise was that he "hit the road and actually saw [the fans] face to face and shook their hands."[4] He signed with Def Jam five months after the release of his Young Sinatra mixtape in 2011, a deal kept secret until 2013 because he "didn't want the fans to be like, 'Oh, he's going to change!'"[5] Logic has characterized Def Jam as his "bank", which does not interfere with his creative control or deal much with his publicity.[6] Visionary Music Group, an independent label run by Logic,[7] managed and funded his audio mixing, mastering, tours and album art.[3]

In 2013, Logic moved to Los Angeles to work on his debut album with Def Jam's No I.D.,[3] a mentor he later compared to Yoda.[8] Several people told Logic to make the album more personal than his mixtapes, and so he decided to write about his difficult upbringing in Gaithersburg, Maryland.[2] On the advice of Don Cannon, he chose to maintain the album's personal theme by omitting guest appearances.[9] Its title Under Pressure reflects the challenges of Logic's private life and rap career, and his belief that the album is "his diamond", as diamonds are created by pressure.[9] His mixtapes had dealt heavily with his biracial heritage, but he changed his focus from race to culture on the album.[10] Rather than go "the radio route" with Under Pressure, Logic wanted to create a classic hip hop album in the style of Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, Kanye West and Big L. To help new listeners understand that his roots lie in this music, Logic tried to make Under Pressure more consistent and more quintessentially hip hop than his mixtapes, which he found incohesive.[9][11] Although he admitted to emulating other rappers on his earlier releases, he believed that the album would finally crystallize "the sound of Logic".[8]

The album artwork was painted by Sam Spratt, an artist based in New York City. He was asked to recreate the basement of Logic's friend Big Lenbo, where Logic had lived and recorded early in his career. Using photographs taken at that time, Spratt painted a detailed reproduction of the space. The artwork's "half dark[,] half bright and beautiful look" symbolizes the two sides of Logic's life.[11] Spratt wrote that he collaborated heavily with Logic to make the album's narrative "sync up on the art side."[12] The title and track list on the album art were hand-written by Big Lenbo.[13]

Composition and recording

For Under Pressure, Logic took inspiration from sources such as Quentin Tarantino's films and the music of Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest and Kanye West.

Under Pressure was developed over several years, but it was recorded in roughly two weeks.[14] Recording locations included No I.D.'s studio and Logic's home, both in Los Angeles, and hotel rooms where Logic stayed while touring.[15] No I.D. served as executive producer and exercised high-level oversight of the album—a loose management style that Logic compared to that of Quincy Jones. Although Logic found No I.D.'s advice and connections to be critical to Under Pressure's quality, he later clarified that "it was me and [Visionary Music Group producer] 6ix who created this entire album."[7] During the album's development, Logic regularly watched Quentin Tarantino films and listened to A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast and Red Hot Chili Peppers.[16] Other influences on the album include Kanye West's Late Registration and Graduation, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Kendrick Lamar's "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst".[10]

The first track to be composed was the nine-minute "Under Pressure", which Logic wrote and self-produced while on tour with Kid Cudi. After returning to the studio to work on the song in Pro Tools, an error caused a sample of Eazy-E to play over aggressive drums, which Logic decided to use as an opening half to "Under Pressure". Live instruments such as guitars and cellos were then added. The two halves of the track came to represent "the duality of man", as Logic rapped from the perspectives of his hip hop persona and his everyday identity. The resultant song "set the tone for the rest of the album", according to Logic.[10]

Opening track "Intro" was initially based on a sample from the song "Aeroplane (Reprise)" by Wee, which Logic and 6ix had heard in Kanye West's "Bound 2". However, technical issues forced them to interpolate the sample. Work on track two, "Soul Food", began when Logic found the song's instrumental hosted on SoundCloud by rapper and producer Alkebulan. Logic obtained permission to use the track and polished it with his team. After they were unable to clear or interpolate a key sample, DJ Khalil was recruited to recreate it. The song's second half is made up of production from 6ix recorded a year before the rest of the track. "Intro" and "Soul Food" were placed together at the album's start to create a jolting transition from a "beautiful and musical and melodic" song to "six minutes of raw lyricism".[10]

For "Buried Alive", Logic selected one of his 20 instrumentals which given to him by Dun Deal, added new drums and backing vocals, the latter recorded by Big Lenbo. DJ Dahi provided several potential instrumentals for "Never Enough", and the "skeleton beat" Logic selected was built up with interpolations of "So Fresh, So Clean" performed by Outkast and "Pursuit of Happiness" performed by Kid Cudi. "Growing Pains III" is the third installment of Logic's Growing Pain trilogy. The song is produced by TDE's Tae Beast and 6ix. In the song, Logic speaks on his life and pain growing up in his household. "Metropolis", a Rob Knox and Logic co-production, features an interpolation of Bill Withers' "Use Me" designed to add "thump" to the original song's drumming. "Nikki" samples Jeff Beck's Love Is Green. Nikki has been a brought up on previous songs and has been personified as a very close female until it's reveal that Nikki is an abbreviation for nicotine.[17] The title track is the first single for the album and is produced by Logic himself. The song samples Eazy-E's Eazy-Duz-It and Grant Green's My One And Only Love. The song is looked at as the centerpiece of the album by critics and fans alike. The song is a 9 minute, two part song, the first verse Logic speaks on his success and sharing with those who helped him, and the second part is him speaking on losing touch with his family due to his success and finding out how proud they are of him. The album closer, "Till the End", was the last to be composed and recorded. Husband and wife team The Frontrunners and the producers S1 and M-Phazes contributed to the song's instrumental. Upon hearing the mastered version of the album, Logic reportedly cried, as it proved to him that he had succeeded despite his troubled childhood.[10]

Music and lyrics

Growing up there were guns in the house, my brothers were out selling crack. I grew up on Section 8 housing, food stamps, welfare, and dealing with social services. I never had a Christmas, I never had a birthday.

“
”

— Logic[10]

Under Pressure details Logic's life story beginning with his childhood in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and he has described its content as "extremely, extremely dark".[5] Logic conceived "Gang Related" after watching Boyz n the Hood. Logic considered it to be "a gangster record" that subverts the glorification of violence common in hip hop: he wrote about the criminal activities that surrounded him as a child, while showing that he chose a different lifestyle. After completing the first verse, he was blocked on the lyrics for ten days, until he thought to rap from the perspective of his brother who had dealt drugs in Logic's youth. His brother agreed to the idea and provided him with stories from the period.[10]

While on tour with Kid Cudi, Logic received numerous voicemail messages from his family, which he "transcribed damn near word for word" and converted into rhyming lyrics. As a fan of hip hop braggadocio, Logic was initially uneasy about the results, but he chose to push forward with the idea. "Never Enough" was written as an "ignorant" track with a hidden meaning: it discusses the pleasures of "money, bitches, drugs [and] partying" but declares them insufficient. Logic wrote "Till the End" about his difficulty breaking into the mainstream.[10]

Singles and promotion

On April 8, 2014, Logic released a song, titled "Now", in which this track was supposed to be for his EP as a preview for the album. A week later he released another track, titled "Alright", which features Def Jam's rapper Big Sean. Logic later announced that he would cancel the EP and use those songs on the deluxe edition of the album.[18] On August 28, 2014, Logic released another song that would appear on the deluxe edition of the album, titled "Driving Ms. Daisy", which features guest vocals from a fellow rapper Childish Gambino.[19] On September 16, 2014, the first single from the album was released, titled "Under Pressure", with the music video coming out on October 9.[20][21] On October 14, 2014, Logic released the album's second single, titled "Buried Alive".[22] Logic also produced this track alongside record producer Dun Deal.

On November 13, 2014, Logic performed "I'm Gone" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with The Roots as his backing band.[23]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[24]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[25]
Exclaim!9/10[26]
HipHopDX4.5/5[27]
RapReviews.com9/10[28]
Rolling Stone[29]
Sputnikmusic1/5[30]
XXL4/5[31]

Under Pressure received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on 8 reviews.[24] Sheldon Pearce of HipHopDX found a lot of depth in the album's storytelling saying "There are a great many moments that make Under Pressure feel like a feature film about Logic's life, and when at its best, it is creating that sort of imagery."[27] AllMusic praised the production and Logic's storytelling throughout the album saying, "Under Pressure is an autobiographical and odds-beating debut that arrives more fully formed than expected."[25] Lucas G of DJBooth said, "This has the feel of a full, complete body of work, one embedded with nuances, themes and a larger, interwoven framework that nobody could digest in one listen."[32] Erin Lowers of Exclaim! said, "Under Pressure finds Logic breaking out as an all-star emcee, raising the bar higher than anyone could've predicted."[26] Clara Wang of RapReviews.com said, "When nostalgic old-timers lament the golden age of hip-hop, for those championing our current era, Under Pressure is the album to point to."[28]

Eric Diep of XXL was compelled by the lyricism throughout the album, concluding with "Filled with persistent rhymes about his grind, it's a final warning that he’s not going anywhere. For Logic, alleviating the pressures of critical acclaim just got easier."[31] Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone said, "This album is all surface-level, free of sharp punch lines ("I been Hungary like Budapest") or metaphors that connect."[29] In a negative review, a staff reviewer from Sputnikmusic said "It's not a verbatim copy of Kendrick's work, but it's every bit the stylistic counterfeit, and while it, along with the other mentions above, could be seen as imitations done in reverence had they been released on a free mixtape, their use on an album is no doubt a calculated effort to profit off of the ideas and work of another who did it first, in an attempt to capitalize on the ignorance of those listeners who may not know better." He did, however, continue by saying, "Outside of these disgusting faults, Logic's album isn't a bad effort at all, with few truly dull moments and good production and rapping from front to back."[30]

Year-end lists

Under Pressure was listed at number 45 on Complex's 50 best albums of 2014[33] and number 6 on Vibe's list of 46 best albums of the year.[34] HipHopDX ranked it among the top 25 albums of 2014.[35]

Commercial performance

Under Pressure debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 72,000 album-equivalent units in the United States.[36] It also debuted at number 2 on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and the Rap Albums charts. As of October 2015, the album has sold 197,000 copies in the United States.[37] In October 2016, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units.[38]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"  
6ix3:02
2."Soul Food"  
4:52
3."I'm Gone"  
4:42
4."Gang Related"  
6ix2:47
5."Buried Alive"  
5:37
6."Bounce"  
4:04
7."Growing Pains III"  
4:06
8."Never Enough"  
4:22
9."Metropolis"  
  • Hall II
  • Robin Tadross
  • Rob Knox
  • Logic
4:55
10."Nikki"  
  • Logic
  • 6ix
3:23
11."Under Pressure"  
Logic9:19
12."Till the End"  
  • Hall II
  • Griffin, Jr.
  • Landon
  • Diondria Thornton
  • Christopher Holmes
6ix5:14
Total length:56:23

Sample credits

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] 173
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[40] 8
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[41] 26
UK Albums (OCC)[42] 88
US Billboard 200[43] 4
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 2
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[45] 2
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[46] 11

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[38] Gold 500,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Garner, Chris (September 15, 2014). "Logic's Album 'Under Pressure' Drops on October 21". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Martin Caballero (November 9, 2014). "On the Verge: Rapper Logic breaks out with first album". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Wesley Case (June 21, 2013). "Logic: From Gaithersburg to Def Jam and Hollywood". The Baltimore Sun. Timothy E. Ryan. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ Alex Gale (October 22, 2014). "Exclusive: Logic Breaks Down 6 Things to Know About Him". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Insanul Ahmed (June 13, 2014). "Who Is Logic? The Maryland Rapper Talks About His Drug Addicted Parents, His Debut Album, and How Nas Tried to Sign Him". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ Sowmya Krishnamurty (October 21, 2014). "Meet Logic, the Punctual, Seinfeld-Loving Rapper Who Turned Down a Deal With Nas". The Village Voice. Josh Fromson. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Erin Lowers (November 13, 2014). "Logic Addresses Kendrick Lamar Comparisons and His Biggest Pressures". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Eric Diep (January 17, 2014). "Logic Says No I.D. Is Like Yoda". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 Eric Diep (October 21, 2014). "Logic Focuses On Telling Stories On His Debut Album Under Pressure". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Andre Grant (October 31, 2014). "Logic Tells The Stories Behind Under Pressure & Explains Finding His Sound". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  11. 1 2 Nostro, Lauren (September 10, 2014). "Check Out the Artwork For Logic's Upcoming "Under Pressure" Album". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ Spratt, Sam. ""Logic – Under Pressure" – Album Cover illustration for Def Jam Recordings by Sam Spratt". Tumblr. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Arjun Ivatury, Narada Michael Walden (2014). "Nikki". Def Jam (Song). Visionary Music Group. All handwriting on the album's artwork was done by Big Lenbo
  14. ↑ Carl Lamarre (May 19, 2014). "Logic Recorded His Debut Album In Two Weeks". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  15. ↑ Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Larry Griffin Jr., Mark Landon (2014). "Bounce". Def Jam (Song). Visionary Music Group. Locations where the album were recorded include: No I.D.'s studio in Los Angeles, Logic's house in the hills, and various hotels across the country throughout the duration of the tour
  16. ↑ Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, David Cunningham (2014). "Buried Alive". Def Jam (Song). Visionary Music Group. Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and films by Quentin Tarantino were in rotation constantly throughout the duration of this album's creation
  17. ↑ "YouTube". Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ Smith, Trevor (June 7, 2014). "Logic May Scrap "While You Wait" EP, Will Have No Features on Debut Album". hotnewhiphop. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  19. ↑ Frydenlund, Zach (August 27, 2014). "Listen to Logic's "Driving Ms. Daisy" f/Childish Gambino". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ Frydenlund, Zach. "Listen to Logic's "Under Pressure"". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  21. ↑ Slavik, Nathan. "Logic – Under Pressure". DJBooth. The DJBooth LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Logic – Buried Alive". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  23. ↑ Jules, Marvin (November 13, 2014). "Watch Logic Perform "I'm Gone" On 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon'". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  24. 1 2 "Under Pressure – Logic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  25. 1 2 "Under Pressure – Logic : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  26. 1 2 Erin, Lowers (October 21, 2014). "Logic – Under Pressure". Exclaim!. Ian Danzig. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  27. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon (October 27, 2014). "Logic – Under Pressure". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  28. 1 2 Wang, Clara (October 28, 2014). "Logic – Under Pressure Review". RapReviews.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  29. 1 2 Weingarten, Christopher. "Logic Under Pressure Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  30. 1 2 Staff, Aziz (October 28, 2014). "Logic – Under Pressure (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  31. 1 2 Diep, Eric (October 21, 2014). "Logic Is Ready For Rap Stardom On Debut Album 'Under Pressure' – XXL". XXL. Townsquare Media. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  32. ↑ "1 Listen Album Review: Logic's "Under Pressure" (aka Maybe the Album of the Year)". DJBooth. The DJBooth LLC. October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Logic, "Under Pressure" – The 50 Best Albums of 2014". Complex. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  34. ↑ "The BIG List: 46 Albums From 2014 That Are Actually Worth Your Money – Logic Pressure_0 – 42". Vibe. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  35. ↑ "HipHopDX's Top 25 Albums Of 2014". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  36. ↑ Balfour, Jay (October 29, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: T.I., Logic, Game". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
  38. 1 2 "Gold & Platinum – RIAA". Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Logic – Under Pressure" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Logic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Logic – Under Pressure". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Logic | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Logic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Logic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top Rap Albums for Logic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Logic. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
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