ALBUM REVIEW: Kodak Black returns and is ‘Back for Everything’

Kodak Black, Back For Everything, Kodak Black Back For Everything

Kodak Black, “Back For Everything.”

Kodak Black has had quite a lot go down the last few years—between serving time in prison for weapons charges, getting pardoned by the former president, taking a plea deal on his sexual assault case, and most recently getting shot. One might expect someone in his position to be extremely tired, or perhaps lashing out, yet there’s this middle ground he manages to operate in throughout Back for Everything, an album that’s colored mores with moments of introspection.

Back for Everything
Kodak Black
Atlantic, Feb. 25
6/10

Throughout the album, Kodak Black has shown his ability to adapt to the changing soundscape of hip-hop, as the influence of drill definitely comes out on several tracks. Opener “Let Me Know” sees the rapper feeling disgruntled and frustrated with those around him who revel in his struggles and failures. His disheartened flow highlights his angst, and he wonders if he is always going to have people looking down on him. The title track features light ambient and etherial synths that flutter over the snares, while Kodak raps about his success and power.



Single “Grinding All Season” highlights his mindset of working hard to attain success, not being afraid to get his hands dirty if he needs to. “Smackers” is probably the weakest song on the album, largely due in part to some awkward stumbles in line delivery at a few points—but it’s hard to tell if this was intentional or an accident since it never seems to pop up again. “On Everything” delivers a more minimalist sound with piano and flute pairing as Kodak emphasizes his dedication to his work and output first and foremost, as he tries to get his affairs in order.

We really start to get into the meat of the album with “Sink My Ship.” Here, Kodak Black raps over a rising and falling ambient instrumental, expressing his unwillingness to flinch in the face of his detractors that only want to watch him fail. Followed up with “Usain Boo,” he samples Flo-Rida’s “On and On” as he relishes in this feel good number. “Vulnerable (Free Cool)” features a light guitar melody that glides over a smooth bass and snare pairing while Kodak attempts to reconcile his feelings of self-hate while pursuing a woman he’s interested in.



Zaytoven takes the reigns on production with “Elite Division,” on which Kodak explores how his ties to the streets have not been cut since he gained fame, and how it’s led him to continue looking over his shoulder.

“Omega” is easily the most introspective we see Kodak Black get on the record, as he examines how the streets shaped him during his youth, surrounded by gangsters, and thus he adapted to the lifestyle. He emphasizes the theme of “education” by way of learning from one’s surroundings, and he even reflects on how he completed his education from behind bars.



Lil Durk makes an appearance on “Take You Back,” where he and Kodak both seek to make amends with past lovers whom they’ve cheated on, rapping over another very minimalist piano track. “He Loves The Streets” and “I Wish” see Kodak reflect on how his music is both informed by and has an effect on what goes on in the streets. He laments his wish to distance himself but he cant seem to pull himself away from it all.

Follow editor Tim Hoffman at Twitter.com/hipsterp0tamus.

(3) Comments

  1. Joe

    You're enjoying this all wrong brother. Kodak doesn't use themes for projects, songs or even entire verses. None of these songs are about anything, they are like journal entries. As far as I know, he doesn't write and he records these songs in a couple takes. Personally, one of my favorite things about Kodak is that he doesn't try to hide his mistakes. There are plenty of classic tracks where he mentions leaving the song "just like that", and didn't even to bother to remove the part where he says to leave it "just like that". Don't let the genius of the work go over your head. 1. Kodak is always making original music before he's making hip-hop. He's not adapting to anything other artists are doing . Your not hearing another artists sound in Kodak's music, it's the other way around. It's an honest mistake, but now you know. If you don't believe me there's a song called "On and On" that I think you should listen to by a Florida legend named Tom G. Kodak never reuses a flow or melody. Halfway through "Let me know" he abandons the flow from the first half of the song and finishes the second with a flow that transforms 2 bars at a time so smoothly you might not even realize it's happening. The genius of Kodak is that no matter how complex the technique is, it probably wasn't planned and was done without much effort. Do you think he didn't include a chorus on purpose? My impression is that he was snapping too hard in the studio and end up not having room for one after the verse was finished. Anyway, give it another try without tryin to fit it in a box. Its amazing.

  2. Cornelius Martin

    This album is incredible. Feels like he shook off the prison rust. Kodak is a phenomenal artist and its good to see that he is still hungry despite life being heavy. I will say that Smackers seems like a freestyle or a one take situation. It's littered with punchlines and he flows for two minutes with no course nor bridges. It's perhaps his most raw display of innate MC skills and to say it's the weakest song seems like it's ignoring its purpose. Thats all

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