*A Review and Dissection of what may be a modern classic in RnB/trip-hop: Sir - Chasing Summer*
Sir’s latest offering “Chasing the Summer” feels like an afternoon after a taxing day, where you come home to a comfortable & warmly lit space, with your marijuana pre-rolled and a dessert you enjoy so much you just have to eat it slowly to really savour the taste. A theme that permeates this entire body of work from the very Title and the ushering first track; but takes a few detours down a nostalgic memory lane where he longs for the all too familiar simplicity of Inglewood his hometown, vs the seductive allure of Los Angeles. I’m not sure whether he is metaphorically comparing both cities to contrasting lovers or this nomadic dilemma many internationally touring artists face is being personified as two contrasting love affairs?
Now bare with me; I’m not making assertions on Sir’s personal life, because while according to an interview with () while some of his songs are very personal, he does draw inspiration from other peoples experiences; which I believe he packages into a coherent narrative of Tropical love affairs which are constantly juxtaposed to a more familiar and kush-hazed love that appears to be in LA. So this is purely an analysis of the narrative journey Sir takes us on, which actually becomes apparent when you juxtapose the lyrics in Sir’s “Something New” which features on November to Chasing the Summer’s Fire and The Recipe.
Why I believed it was imperative to comparatively compare the narratives in the lyrics between November (2018) and Chasing the Summer (2019), was to get a sense of where Sir’s mind was before he went on his most recent tour which is while he was making November and on tour which is was during the time Chasing the Summer was recorded, because in an interviews with BigBoy TV and Hot 97, Sir alluded to the fact that: to him, his music is his therapy, which is why he describes his music as very personal, saying that they were narrations of his own and others’ personal experiences.
From the title, Chasing the Summer foreshadows the theme of a nostalgic yearning for a carefree nirvana similar to adolescent Summer Holidays, but does so by always making specific reference to LA, love affairs, or at times even legal marijuana from Cali throughout the album.
The whole album seems to be set in a moment of reminiscing, as Sir is seated on a plane just before take-off. In an interview with BigBoy TV he speaks about how he was flown around in Dot’s private jet during one of his recent tours, which is where he may have sampled some airplane recordings. These moments may represent Sir potentially reaching or at least deciding on his Nirvana, which was h always actually his home in Los Angeles , which one could reasonably assert by listening to the final two songs on the album in order.
This is merely one man’s opinion on the album, and I would love to hear what others have to think about it. With that being said, with pleasure I would rate this album a solid 9/10! This album has consistent themes beautifully communicated through charmingly impressive vocals. The features were nothing short of iconic, featuring the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Jill Scott and Lil Wayne amongst others! The album also has so much replay value, evident on all the commentary across various social media platforms and YouTube, with Soulection Radio’s Joe kay commenting how he had the album “on repeat”.
Listen to the album over on on our Apple Music and Spotify Playlists.
Piece by Bulumko Napakade