Lil Skies – Unbothered (Album Review)

Lil Skies is a mixed bag in “Unbothered.”

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TOP 5

HONORABLE MENTION. FADE AWAY

Lil Skies reminds himself to keep grinding on “Fade Away.”

“Fade Away” sounds like an accidental club banger. While Lil Skies occasionally talks about deep s**t like his rough come-up, the dreams that he’s chasing, and his knack for bouncing back, the song features this exhilarating beat that will make you want to throw back some shots.

Lil Skies sounds pretty dull on this song… His raps sound pretty simple, too.

5. RIOT

Lil Skies sounds gassed up, gangsta, and bossy on “Riot.” If I were to guess, the hard-hitting beat that powers the song is what brought out a version of the rapper that is hyperfocused (Kudos to CashMoneyAP).

I’m blasting “Riot” in my basement this weekend! (I’m not going to a club to party with you sickos this weekend)

4. EXCITE ME

Pittsburgh rappers Lil Skies and Wiz Khalifa both shine on “Excite Me.”

“Excite Me” features a very catchy hook, melodic raps, cliche lyrics about dogging chicks, and cocky styles of rapping. The song also features an instrumental that I swear I heard on Sonic The Hedgehog 2.

3. RED WINE & JODECI

You would think that a track called “Red Wine & Jodeci” would be the ultimate love song, right? Unfortunately (Or fortunately), it is about chicks being stiff-armed, weed being smoked, and money being spent.

“Red Wine & Jodeci” features a fantastic hook and lyrics that are way too trill to ignore. I also f**k with how smoothly the song flows.

2. TAKE 5

For those of you that don’t know how good of a rapper Lil Skies is, listen to “Take 5.”

Lil Skies balances melodic raps with gritty raps very well on “Take 5.” He also does a great job of balancing braggadocios lyrics with street-certified and vulnerable lyrics.

1. SKY HIGH

Lil Skies talks about the feelings that come with chasing a chick that has been battered and neglected throughout the years in “Sky High.”

You get Lil Skies’ most dynamic performance on “Sky High.” Not only does he hit us with melodies that are hella infectious, but he also hits us with a powerful rap verse. The song’s icing on the cake is its riveting/hard-hitting instrumental.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. FADE AWAY (3/5)

2. TAKE 5 (4/5)

3. EXCITE ME (4/5)

4. HAVIN MY WAY (3/5)

5. OK (2/5)

6. DEAD BROKE (3/5)

7. ON SIGHT (3/5)

8. THINK DEEP DON’T SINK (3/5)

9. RED WINE & JODECI (4/5)

10. LOCKED UP (3/5)

11. TRUST NOBODY (3/5)

12. RIOT (4/5)

13. SKY HIGH (4/5)

14. MHMMM (3/5)

OVERALL RATING

(C)

A few years back, I was very high on Lil Skies. Not only did I think that he was a beast at creating infectious-ass melodies, but I also thought that he was a very slept-on lyricist. These days, I feel like Skies struggles to sound interested in his songs. With that being said, there are a few songs on Unbothered in which Skies sounds like a rapper that has crazy potential, a few songs in which Skies sounds asleep at the wheel, and a few songs in which Skies sounds like all the other Lils in the game.

There are a few things that stood out to me about Unbothered:

The production. In my opinion, Skies is set up to succeed by instrumentals that boast everything from comforting to club vibes. While he does a good job of fitting on each beat that he is handed, I feel like a more experimental rapper could’ve done more damage over them.
How Skies balanced his melodic raps with gritty raps. Personally, I feel like Skies knows when an irresistible melody is needed to complete a song, when gritty raps are needed to complete a song, and when to balance both irresistible melodies and gritty raps to complete a song. While I give his gritty raps an A+, I give his melodies a B- (Sometimes, his melodies sound a little dull).
His content. Though Skies doesn’t open up on this album as much as he did on Shelby, he does still talk about his come-up, his love life, and his current life. While I really f**k with the verses in which he gets vulnerable, I think the verses in which he spews out braggadocios lyrics will be forgotten by a lot of people.

All in all, Unbothered is not a bad album, but it’s definitely not a memorable one. Skies, I know in my heart that you can make a body-of-work that is better than this…