KAYTRANADA - BUBBA

Written by Nathan Evans

Additional Editing by Anouska Liat

With the biggest names in music seemingly refusing to drop in 2019, it opened the door for less distinguished artists to fill the space with their noise. This proved to be the golden opportunity for more experimental artists to permeate the mainstream music scene, but as the year-end lists came swarming in their thousands (and KEYMAG was no different), another surprise was in store from KAYTRANADA. The Haitian-born producer has since accumulated an impressive crossover of fans by toeing a sharp line between hip-hop, funk, and house music. This success was typified by spotlight-stealing productions for other artists, and awards for his own material.

99.9% was an explosive debut for him, as colourful as it was wild and attention-grabbing. It seemed to put the whole world onto his bassy beats that wrap themselves around the guest artists like a giant cushion, unashamedly telling the listener to focus on the inflexion and grooves of the voices, by cutting out an opportunity to lean into any hair-splitting details. However, with the surprise release of BUBBA just before the sun set on 2019, KAYTRA left expectations in the air. Although, all prior indication of the sonic direction he takes is hinted right there in the title - Bubba Kush is a strain of cannabis known for its sedative, tranquilising qualities.

That avenue he moves down is a more aged, well-mannered R&B that is bolstered by house music rather than being the throughline. He’s certainly capable; the one-two punch of “Oh No” and “What You Need” is especially impactful because of the aromatic qualities of each - syrupy vocals from Estelle and Charlotte Day Wilson respectively are two of the best on the record, and both are tied with muddy basslines and creamy synths with a certain tang to them.

This change of flavour springs to mind how Disclosure pivoted between their seminal deep house classic Settle, and the more star-studded and underwhelming follow-up in Caracal. Unfortunately, KAYTRANADA falls into that same trap here, though the attempt is not unappreciated. BUBBA sees him bring a more limited scale, leaning towards a particular corner of his style rather than hoping to cover all bases at once again. Opting for more focus, however, seems to have abraded the KAYTRA sound of all its eccentricities, rationing those quirky tribal rhythms and cutting back on basslines that are anything above polite. The SiR-featuring “Go DJ” promises big in the chorus (“the DJ’s on my team, I’m certain”), yet is way more simmering than scorching. The self-proclaimed “King of R&B” eeks out an average performance, which is decidedly on-par for him, not helped by the lack of variation behind him. The beat does not move an inch, not even giving his classic head-snapping beat explosion, featured on the best material from the producer. It rests on steady and lukewarm for the full duration, and best believe that’s a recurring theme throughout the rest of the album.

The album’s momentum is consistently stifled with moments of utter inertia, not even breaking out of the gate until the fourth track “Puff Lah”. Its slumped groove makes for a sinuous cut indicative of KAYTRA’s more lively style in the face of its sub-2-minute length, and this is the pressing matter - sweet spots like these are few and far between on BUBBA. Dance music is about being moved, nay, pushed around and encircled by a hitting kick-snare combo, but here, KAYTRA’s level-headed mixing puts a priority on subtle tweaks than a Spiral Tap turn-up into the red. It’s clear that this is not music to fill the dancefloor of a sweat-layered, gin-soaked night joint, rather, acting as background music to the VIP-booth reserved for shutting down unconscious on a velvet couch next to E-list celebrities, alcohol-empowered chanting and garish lap dances.

Despite the balanced effort, some songs on here are simply too strong to be weighed-down by mixing troubles. Kali Uchis on “10%” serves a delicacy of a performance that would have been crushed under the magnitude of KAYTRA’s previous production choices. Here, she’s crystal clear as she lilts about a lover not giving his fair share of energy back to her, the central line “you keep on taking from me but where’s my 10 percent” doubling up nicely as a little wink-nudge shot at the industry. Moreover, the stepped-back approach to let guests shine on this record actually aids “10%”, thanks to the allure of Uchis being shown on full display where previously, her lyrics and vocal nuances would have been lost in the haze of KAYTRA’s bounce. Nonetheless, there are moments where vocal guests seem to bring the wrong thing to their respective track.

Of course, Goldlink is an absolute bore on his track and stinks up the place with his usual comatose faux-fast raps that somehow feel too rushed to understand but sucks the energy out of everything like the Scream Extractor from Monster Inc. But the biggest letdown was Pharrell on the closing track “Midsection”, even with the raw production from KAYTRANADA. His groove seems to call back to his Haitian funk roots, but Mr. Williams is the one who bafflingly brings his pop falsetto to the beat when he really should be getting his goddamn James Brown on.

What screams “disappointment” the most on BUBBA is the instrumental teases that appendices some cuts on here, ending with a fade-out-fade-in to a spare beat that exasperatingly sounds far more interesting than the core of the track. As a whole, it’s not a bad record, by any means. KAYTRANADA on his average is equivalent to most producers, and imitators, at their optimal. But while his debut did have its misfires, BUBBA pales in comparison, as another more R&B-focused record that managed to embody the sophomore slump that KAYTRA is, and Disclosure once was, so desperately trying to avoid.