Steve 'Flash' JuonI don’t know about this one. I respect the contributions of my fellow writers and Ryan seemed fond of 2KBABY’s “Pregame Rituals” so I believed “Scared 2 Love” would offer a similarly pleasant experience. It probably would… for Ryan. Now the great thing about this big ol’ world we live in is that we’re all unique individuals with their own likes and dislikes, and it would be awfully boring if we all felt the same way about everything. In fact at that point we’d stop being human and start being Cybermen. I’d much rather live in a world where we don’t all agree about everything. I can even concede that 2KBABY might just be a sign of a cultural divide between generations that’s simply too big of a gap for me to bridge.
Let’s start with the positives. I can certainly see the appeal of Christian Todd to his demographic. Known in a former life as Lil Sage, the aspiring rapper was inspired by G Herbo (and would eventually go on to collaborate with him) growing up, but if you ask me he’s nothing like the Chicago drill emcee. If he reminds me of anyone it’s Compton’s own Roddy Ricch. If you told me he was working with DJ Mustard I wouldn’t even blink an eye. On top of that he certainly cuts a figure in his music video. I’m not saying I swing that way, but I am saying you’d have to be blind not to see he’s young and handsome. He shares the spotlight with charlieonnafriday on “Don’t Love Me Now” video but it’s all on 2K regardless of his intentions.
I think I’ve officially been complimentary enough now. “Scared 2 Love” is a cookie cutter carbon copy of any singing rapper you’ve heard for at least 10 years now. I know we’ve all moved away from samples because the clearances got too expensive, but I’m begging for anything from 2K’s producers that would make him stand out. Jazz, funk, heavy metal, classic R&B, hell I’d settle for some Beach Boys up in this bitch (RIP Brian Wilson). What has rap music become? “Fireworks” — and not the Katy Perry kind. There’s a lot of bass, a lot of high pitched plaintive wailing, and not much to write home about.
“I be all about my business, baby
Don’t forget it, baby, I’m a rich nigga”
What am I missing here? 2K says he’s scared on the album title but he doesn’t sound like it on the songs. He doesn’t sound scared of love or anything else. He sounds like he’s posturing all the time even when he’s not on camera for a video. “40’s & 9’s” is as surface level deep as the title suggests. Drinking 40’s to get fucked up, carrying 9’s to not get stuck up. “Now I’m cooling and a nigga’s dead.” Well 2K, that’s why excessive alcohol consumption and lethal firearms don’t mix. This is all fiction of course, but the problem is I checked this book out of the library a long time ago. The authors keep changing but their stories stay the same.
Some people might read my “Scared 2 Love” and simply write me off as a hater. To be clear I’m happy that other writers for the site like 2K, and I’m happy that 2K has a lot of fans in general, and I’m unequivocally happy he’s living his best life as a successful recording artist. My problems are this — I find it very hard to define someone as a rapper who sings for the entirety of their album, and I find it very hard to laud 2K as the artist of his generation when he’s indistinguishable from his contemporaries. It makes me suspect that his good looks and a really good marketing team are the reasons for his success, because no matter how hard I try to hear it differently my life’s experiences have shaped me to find this album very banal and bland.