Former Odd Future rapper Domo Genesis has finally broken out of his shell with his debut album “Genesis”. Genesis is a far cry from Under The Influence 2, and Domo has ditched the classic Odd Future dark and alternative style for a more upbeat and soulful style.
As previously stated, Domo clearly changed up his sound on this album. When I was first listening to the album it reminded me a lot of Jay Z’s The Black Album. One Below clearly draws inspiration from December 4th, not just in the soulful production, but in the sample of his mother talking at the beginning of the song. I assume that it was Domo paying homage to Hov, as he has stated that he is heavily influenced by East Coast rappers like Nas. Throughout the album you can hear how Domo has developed as an artist. As someone who has listened to all of his projects I really liked hearing how he grew. Songs like Coming Back show his maturity as an artist, Mac Miller’s feature was used perfectly, and lyrically Domo reflects on his rise to fame. Though Genesis has a very good batting average it’s a bit top heavy. At the start of the album every song flows into the next; One Below transitions perfectly into Wanderer; Wanderer transitions perfectly into Questions. These smooth transitions start to fall apart towards the middle of the album, and it leaves me with the impression that the album is unfinished.
Lyrically I really enjoyed this album. Domo raps about his family, his past, his future, and a little bit about Odd Future. Oh, and of course weed, but that’s a staple of Domo. On the album Domo pretty much confirms what all Odd Future fans know, that the group is dead. He raps about how when he was trying to find himself, and his style, it distanced him from the rest of the group. However, the former group is obviously still on good terms. He raps “I love you dudes I mean it” in reference to Odd Future, and former group leader Tyler, The Creator produced and was featured on the song Go Gas. Go Gas is easily my least favorite song on the album, I have never been a huge fan of Tyler’s production and the Wiz Khalifa feature killed this song for me.
“Lost a couple, want to rob but my focus still on the leading
Never caught me finding me, what distances me from the team, shit
And no matter what we’ve grow through, I love you dudes
I mean it”
At its lows Genesis was mediocre. The album was loaded with features, which I understand. Domo wanted to have all his friends on his first album, and that’s really cool. However, it got to a point where I was tired of the features. I wish that Domo had more solo songs on the album, after all this album is HIS album. Another grievance I have with the album is the painfully long interludes. On One Below Domo’s Mother’s speech takes way too long; and at the end of Questions Domo’s conversation with his relative who is in prison is just unnecessary. These interludes don’t really add anything to the songs, and really just should have been cut out.
I said previously that at it’s worst this album was mediocre. Which might not sound like it, but it’s a compliment. This album had really high highs on songs like Dapper and Coming Back, but most of the album was flat to me. I really liked the album and I will probably listen to it while I relax, because it has a really nice vibe to it, but I won’t listen to it all the way through for fun; it just doesn’t have the depth to do that. I am a fan of Domo, so this score is probably a little biased, but overall the album is pretty good and if you are a fan of soul music or rap music you should definitely check it out.
Favorite Songs: Coming Back, Dapper
Least Favorites Songs: Go Gas
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