Wild Strawberries is the debut album by underground Hip Hop act 'Felly'. He's one of my personal favorite rappers and I really feel as if he's going to blow up in the near future. His sound is perfectly crafted for the mainstream, and he actually has bars. So he can appeal to multiple crowds. Every project he's released has gotten progressively better and better... up until now. Which is my only gripe with this project.
When I heard the "Young Fel EP" last year I was blown away by the level of improvement and versatility he showed when compared to his previous work. This time however? It's great, don't get me wrong. I just think that it's overall up to par, even dipping below how good of an artist I know he can be at times. This makes sense, as due to this being his debut album he's trying to reach a bigger audience and some of the stuff he was doing beforehand won't get picked up by the masses. For the first time ever you can hear the artists who've influenced him in his rapping. Songs like 'Bring Me My Money' are definitely influenced by Kendrick, and tracks like 'Bag Season' have a definite Drake vibe. Although this initially slightly disappointed me, I've grown to appreciate it. He's putting forward a well rounded view of what's big in hip hop today, while injecting everything that makes his own music so great into it. This LP will without question appeal to a wider audience than his previous work, and hopefully lead more fans into his back catalog.
Songs like Above Water, First Things First, and Darkest motives showcase an MC with something to prove. It's apparent that his sights are set on the mainstream, and I think he's well on his way. However that doesn't mean that he's not putting his best foot forward lyricism wise as well. He's not by any means the best rapper in the world, but he can rap, and once again crafted very melodic, atmospheric, and intricate songs which I grow to appreciate in different ways on every listen. There's definite radio appeal on here, but he didn't compromise his craft for widespread appeal. It's readily apparent that the lanes he's flirting with are things which he genuinely enjoys doing, and he's always had really accessible songs. Here they're just more neatly wrapped up. With all that being said though, there were some things I didn't like.
Ever since Drake dropped Views, this whole Dance Hall wave exploded. I love this sound... when it comes from him. Regardless of him stealing the lane from other artists, I genuinely feel that he does it best. At least for my personal tastes. 'Wild Strawberries' has a few of these songs, and I'm not the biggest fan. It comes off as very organic, I just don't think that's the direction he should take his music in. These are songs which I'm sure other people will love, but there's just something about tracks like 'Wide Angle' which doesn't sit well with me. While catchy, they're almost one dimensional in comparison to everything else this album has to offer. It almost seems as if Felly went into the studio and thought "I'm gonna crank out a few hits" and made these songs all in one day.
I have one more issue, although this is really me nitpicking more than anything. The content hasn't changed up very much. He's still only talking about girls, his unique brand of hipster "swagger," newfound success, and artistic skills. Which is all good, it's part of what made me a fan. I just wish that for his debut album he would have switched things up a bit, and maybe gave the fans more of himself.
Overall I really enjoyed Wild Strawberries. I still prefer The Young Fel EP, but this is a solid addition to his discography. To anyone who enjoys very melodic rap music, but needs their artists to actually know how to rap. Felly is for you.
I'd give this album a 7.5/10