Westside Boogie - More Black Superheroes (Album)

The Shady Records resurgence over these past few years has been beautiful to witness, not to discredit any former members of the label but this is the most amount of pure talent we’ve seen on this label, with Boogie honestly being that much needed weapon in their arsenal. As Em said it, Boog has melodies for days & not only that, he’s a fierce MC, one of the best storytellers & introspective pens the game has seen, as proven time & time on past albums, including his debut with Shady “Everything’s for Sale”, which, as great as that album is, he’s only further improved on “More Black Superheroes”. What’s beautiful is that, if you tuned into to his interview with Sway, along with Iman Shupert, Em called in to sing Boogie’s praises & even got Em to fuck with a ratchet song in “AIGHT”, the albums lead single. With power like that behind you, it’s no wonder Boogie has shown out yet again with another one of the most unique releases to ever come out of Shady.

On the album opener, Boogie immediately weaves a tale of a young man at war with his mind. Where Boogie comes from, you had to be hard, there’s just not a lot of positivity & if there is, everyone’s just so accustomed to the negative circumstances that, it’s all they know, as emphasized by Darius Dixon in the beginning of the record. It’s like, knowing your ways are unhealthy but yet you can’t seem to find an escape route. He’s “STUCK” in his ways, in that same prison he calls a mind but there’s a lot of beauty to be found in the hood, he’s never forgotten his stomping grounds & it’ll forever be a home for him, even if it’s not necessarily the safest of havens. Things take an interesting turn musically from this point on the stripped down acoustic sounds of the Mamii assisted “NONCHALANT”. Her vocal performance here is the most bubbly poignant on the album as Boogie still pines over a love lost. He still questions why things happened the way they did, clearly still affected by her complete discard of him as shown on that second verse. Inarguably one of the best breakup records I’ve personally ever heard cause it’s bittersweet. It has that nice Caribbean feel to it but the lyrical themes are a bit sad but hey, if I’m gonna ponder over what was, why not in a real nice setting you know?

We get two sequels to previous standouts like “LOLSMH” & “PRIDEFUL”, and they really expound on their predecessors, fans will really be appreciative of these numbers. Boogie always lets his reflective pen glide gracefully on these more deeper cuts. Just like a superhero, Boogie is showing the many different sides of him throughout this album, be it Ratchet Boog on the Soulja Boy assisted “CAN’T EVEN LIE”, an unexpected but welcoming collab that really reminds people that Big Draco can still fire off with the best of them. The melodic numbers on here like the Smino assisted “CAN’T GET OVER YOU” showcase the hopeless romantic side of Boogie as he lets his sensitivity shine brightly on this smooth, lounged out record.

“SOMETHIN STRANGE” is my personal favorite off here & I think it’s beautiful that he’s strictly singing on this uplifting, angelically soaring number & the background vocals from Mamii, as well as the verse from Kalan, all make for one of the most earnest records I’ve heard all year, let alone In Boogie’s catalog. I didn’t think he’d make a record as great as “Time” for me but dammit he did it & what’s most beautiful about it is that he lets his people shine as well. Snoop Dogg makes an appearance on the weeded out “WINDOWS DOWN”, a long awaited collab & beautiful to see Snoop continue to back & support his fellow West Coastians. Our black superhero comes back down to earth on the album closer, which finds Boogie in the therapist’s chair, baring all of himself, no matter how bleak it may be or uncomfortable he may be holding himself accountable for his behaviors, the voices of those who know him well still echoing throughout his psyche. He made it out of the turmoil luckily, now he’s just anxious to see how much further he can take this. Thank God for all the black superheroes showing us that we too can fly past the stars & carry this world on our backs, no matter how heavy it may get.