Chinnu Makes A Case For Album Of The Year With His Latest Project “29”
By: Chris Buxton IG: @chrisbuxtonllg
After a 2-year hiatus from dropping albums, one of hip-hops most polarizing talents, Chinnu, makes his return with his career defining album “29”. The album delves into the innerworkings of the human psyche, and it provides a glimpse into a different shade of human emotion. Although it’s only 10 tracks, Chinnu is direct and he does an exceptional job of conveying his emotions. He cuts through the production with precision, and he delivers one of the most cohesive bodies of work with his latest album. For those that live under a rock, Chinnu isn’t new to this. He is an artist that has been refining his sound for years. With 18 albums and over a hundred songs released, the underground star has built an engaged fanbase with his consistency. However, Chinnu took a massive step forward with “29”.
The 10-track project sees him diving into extremely delicate and vulnerable topics ranging from masculinity mental health, imbalanced relationships, family drama, personal loss and lack of faith among other real-time issues. When it comes to making a great album, the intro has to be that appetizer that gets you hooked, and Chinnu made sure to that with “Black Hole”. The record is moody, and it has a melancholic soundscape that meshes well with his lyrics of self-loathing in the midst of love. “Black Hole” is a reflective song that find Chinnu questioning past decisions and ultimately finding a path to recovery. For many that have dealt with addiction, this is a song that will surely catch your attention off the rip. I was also a huge fan of “Underwater” & “False Idols”. “Underwater” was arguably my favorite track on the album and I loved the visuals that accompany the record. On the single, Chinnu changes his approach to a more spoken word delivery over an ethereal soundscape. Unlike some of his other record on the album, there’s no percussion which allows you to feel his vocals and lyrics much more. It’s almost as if he embraced a new form of self-consciousness and was finally starting a new chapter personally. Some of my favorite lyrics from the record have to be: “I was caught trying to barter my soul for some love/deprived of my crutch it feels hard to adjust”.
“False Idols” from a song name standpoint sounds like a song that could have been on Kanye West’s “DONDA”. The record gives listeners more insight into themes like relationships, idol worship, hope and dreams. The former sees the rapper using off-kilter analogies to detail how relationships eventually fall apart while the latter talks about losing faith and hope in things that were once uplifting be it idols. To me, the song is about following your own path!
Chinnu has the following to say about his album:
"My first album in two years, and in a lot of ways this feels like the album I’ve been building up to this whole time. feels like a debut. I realized the other night that I started making music like 11 years ago... this is the style I entered the game with, but one that I was too insecure to pursue out of fear of ridicule, fear of being unfairly judged. I retreated inward, no confidence, no conviction... I feel comfortable in my own experience now, finally, and in turn comfortable sharing this experience with others. I feel like it’s all about just pushing yourself for your own sake. this feels like a project that 18-year-old me would be blown away by, and that’s all that matters"
Overall, this is one of my favorite albums this year so press play below and also check out his visual for “Underwater”.
