The best moments recall American Teen’s airy feel and warm charisma. That wide-ranging talent is on display all over his second LP. The results reduced Drake-size ambition to the relatable scale of a dude who sang about living with his folks.Ī gifted artist with a searching voice that can suggest a stoner Sam Cooke, Khalid further developed his pop chops on last year’s Suncity EP, nodding to reggaeton and Coldplay-esque melody. Yet he perfectly inhabited the world of an average high school kid as he tried to make sense of his messy emotions over Eighties-loving R&B tracks.
At 19, Khalid had appeared on tracks by Kendrick Lamar and Future, and he was tight with Kylie Jenner.
Khalid Robinson’s 2017 debut LP, American Teen, was a coming-of-age record that made young-dumb brokeness feel like the only way to go.
