Illustration by Grace Schafer-Perry
Scatterbrained. That is the word that best describes Jaden Smith’s new album, SYRE. Dropped November 17, 2017, SYRE marks the young artist’s first full album. Notably, the album features high profile artists like A$AP Rocky and Ruary with their own respective guest tracks. Unfortunately, no high profile producer or artist can save the mess I’ve been listening to. Even with its moments of grace, SYRE is bogged down by a seeming lack of direction, lyrics that make no sense, and genre subversions as abrupt as a coked up teenager’s violent mood swings.
Generally, albums and LP’s convey a sense of progression. Between the beginning and the end, the listener has ideally noticed a subtle change in the artist’s attitudes and behavior. Some rush this process, by making a depressing finale, leaving the listener confused and unable to derive a deeper meaning. Others pull it off brilliantly, like Kendrick Lamar in DAMN, where “Duckworth” isn’t just a dejected ending, but also an amplified rendition of downbeat melodies in songs past. Needless to say, Smith doesn’t do any of this, in favor of a ‘sweet’ roller coaster ride through his admittedly conceited mind. You might find yourself immersed in a slow, mellow song, only to be interrupted by Jaden screaming, “JIMMY HENDRIX WITH THE SH*TS!” The entire ordeal ends up becoming a meaningless headache.
That brings me to the lyrics: they are abysmal. It looks like Jaden took Meek Mill’s insults at Drake for having a ghostwriter a bit too seriously, because SYRE’s absence of one really backfires. For every cool drum machine and organic synthesizer in the backdrop, you can count on hearing Jaden say, “I am not a Mayan, I’m a menace/ It’s wild, you can lie like a professor/ I don’t got the time to put you on the stretcher.” What does any of this mean? I can’t explain it, and you know it’s a problem when lyric website Genius can’t explain it either.
I think that the fundamental problem is that Jaden Smith isn’t very skilled yet. It’s hard to blame him, though. After all, he’s only 19! If his father wasn’t Will Smith, SYRE would be just a rambling of young ideas on Soundcloud.