Review: Logic – Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

In the dawn of the early 2010s (or 2009), Sir Robert Bryson Hall II aka Logic aka Bobby Tarantino aka Young Sinatra (yes, he had many aliases) had garnered some attention through his various mixtapes, mainly his Young Sinatra series. He was signed to Visionary Music Group around that time but joined the big leagues once he was signed with Def Jam and released his debut Under Pressure in 2014, which many claimed to be his best album. Following that was The Incredible True Story, and again, some claim it to be a great album while also having some geek cred to it, as the album has the narrative of a sci-fi epic and features Steve Blum as well.

Then… well, Logic has been working on project after project after project with the mixtape Bobby Tarantino in 2016, the album follow-up in 2017 with Everybody, the sequel mixtape Bobby Tarantino II and sequel album Young Sinatra IV in 2018, and just not too long ago, a soundtrack to his novel Supermarket. While Logic had a major hit with “1-800-273-8255” aka the Suicide Hotline Number song going 3x platinum, the reception of his projects have been mixed, and Supermarket easily had it the worst of them all.

Now with his new album Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, I was curious to check it out. I’ve liked Logic’s music in the past, and yet I was mixed about his last few projects. Nothing I felt bordered on hate as a whole, but it was mainly just indifference with some choice tracks I like. In other words, how’s the album?

Oh Boi…

Well, let’s start off on a good note with the title track, which happens to be the album opener/lead single. It’s easily a damn good track with Logic venting out his frustrations with people comparing his new work to his old work, comparing him to another rappers, and with social media working a nerve on him and clouding his mind. There is a lot of good in this song, and with its glimmering production, it is a shining highlight as well.

Too bad that momentum flies out of the window with “Homicide” coming right afterwards. It is easily one of the worst tracks, starting with this obnoxious intro which features his dad (more on him later), and of course it features Eminem. It’s basically the “fuck-the-haters-and-critics and blasting on non-lyrical rappers” track as well. Look, even if Logic is decent on it, this whole song is just corny, and to make it worse, there’s that Eminem impression from comedian Chris D’Elia at the end of the song.

In “Clickbait,” apparently Logic has some beef with Charlemagne Tha God from the Breakfast Club.

I don’t do the Breakfast Club ’cause Charlamagne is shameless
That’s the only one I leave out when I run my bases
Do your research ‘fore you call somebody homophobic
You make a living off of controversy and you know it
I ain’t that type of artist, respect my name and we can talk about it
I’d suck a dick just to prove it ain’t that way (Nigga, what?)
Ninety-nine percent don’t listen what I say (You gay)

OK… moving on…

“Mama / Show Love” is a cool collaboration with YBN Cordae where on the first half of that song, they’re flexing about their lives while hoping their mothers could see where they are at life. The second half is where Logic shows some love to his fellow rappers doing well in the game right now. “COMMANDO” does have a cool beat to it, but then I remember that this song features G-Eazy, and his verse… well, does anyone think of him as a rap titan?

Example: Gerald and Bobby, the clash of the titans, go tell somebody (Go tell somebody)

And I mean that regardless of my thoughts on G-Eazy. Does anyone think of him as a rap titan?

Most of the songs have similar themes to his previous projects, including being biracial, flexing, making it in the rap game, addressing his haters, and sometimes mocking typical rappers with their played-out subjects like drugs, and yet Logic is falling in that same trap of being typical. Maybe not in the usual way, but he’s just going on about the same subject matter he usually does, and it’s getting a bit stale, but it’s not like he’s bad at it. He is still capable of spitting fire, but the final outcome of the projects are becoming less and less favorable.

“Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different” just leaves me scratching my head, and I didn’t look up any of the tracks featured beforehand but when I heard one familiar voice in there, I had to see who it was… and it was Will Smith. That Will Smith: the rapping Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Will Smith, and well…

West Philadelphia born and raised
On the playground is where I… **** all that
Came in the game on my neon fresh
Won the first rap Grammy so I guess I’m blessed
Come off tours, walk on sets
Everybody followin’ the trends I set
60 million sold, doin’ it different
And my IG poppin’ from doing it different
Bad vibrations, I stay distant
RattPack, MSFTS, doin’ it different
Fortnite doin’ the Carlton dance
Come on, it’s just different, man

Yep, that’s a Will Smith rap, from him not cursing to mentioning his successes and well, Fortnite having the very iconic Carlton dance in there. It’s cheesy but then again, it’s not as bad as EDM Will Smith from a few years back. Remember “Get Lit”?

The last two tracks did grab my attention somewhat. “BOBBY” features his dad Smokey Hall or Smokey Legendary (although he’s credited as “My Dad”), and the track is focused on Logic’s existence as a celebrity, and of course his biraciality gets mention here as well. “Lost in Translation” is another favorite track of mine with that familiar type of beat in the intro, and he focuses on venturing into other projects like film making, although looking into the translated version of the Japanese outro didn’t help much.

Thanks for joining us for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It was wonderful, wasn’t it? I hope you enjoyed it. However, if you don’t like Logic, please cover your ears or just leave. But actually, you can’t help but love Logic, right? Every day you can’t help but think of him. You’ve become obsessed without noticing. RattPack all over the world, we have made our mark in history together. I will always love you and am grateful for you. From Maryland to Japan, with love. RattPack, motherfucker.

OK, damn, man. I know that he’s delivering what his fans want, and they’re loving it, but it seems like he’s obsessed with his haters. Usually if this was someone like Eminem and his last album I’d be annoyed and pissed off, but I know that Logic is capable of being the best. He’s got some good intentions, but like his recent output, this album is very inconsistent or at least consistently inconsistent. He has some great bars and flows, but sometimes the subject matter doesn’t always hold up. The beats produced by his homeboy 6ix along with other producers like DJ Khalil, Frank Dukes, and ILLMIND do carry my interest sometimes, but they’re not all that fulfilling, and as for the features… OK, I liked YBN Cordae on “Mama/Show Love,” and Wiz Khalifa & Gucci Mane on “Still Ballin'” and “Icy” respectively were average at best, but yeah this album is pretty middle of the road.

FINAL VERDICT: Stream it. If you’re a super fan of Logic, you’ll definitely love this. If not, then save your time.

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND is available on Visionary Music Group/Def Jam Records through CD, digital download and streaming services