By Jamie Boss

After Ameer Vann was removed from the group last year, there were some questions that arose about whether or not the group would be able to adjust without one of their key members. And after hearing Iridescence I was worried that the All-American Boy Band had lost its magic. Fortunately I was very wrong, as GINGER is a fantastic return to form.

The album starts with “NO HALO”, an emotional track that features verses from every member, outside of Kevin Abstract. On this song they all touch on various things that have been getting them depressed, from breaking up with their girlfriend to feeling like they don’t matter. On top of the four verses, is an infectious hook from Matt Champion and guest vocalist, Deb Never. And all these factors help put together a perfect opening for an album that can be best described as emotional.

Another fantastic track on the album is the absolute banger that is “BOY BYE”. Dom McClennon opens up this song and drops the best verse on the track. His verse also featured my favorite line on the album when he said “I go Johnny Cochran when I’m raisin’ my defenses”. However, despite having such an upbeat beat, most of the members still fill the track with their sad raps to continue the personal and emotion-fueled effort.

But the most emotional song on the album has to be “DEARLY DEPARTED”. Kevin, Matt, Joba, and Dom all deliver gut wrenching verses on this track, with Kevin leading it off. Kevin details his life growing up without a father and losing his best friend, presumably Ameer. Joba handles the chorus where he refers to his feeling of failure as a grandson for missing his grandmother’s funeral. On Matt’s verse he speaks on his depression and feeling of dread for all the people around him. But Dom is the one who puts it all out there to close it out. He uses his verse to vent about his feeling of betrayal from Ameer Vann after he hid from Dom that he set up one of his friends to get robbed. And to close out the verse, and the song, he throws his headphones and slams his microphone out of pure anger.

My only real complaint about the album is the song “HEAVEN BELONGS TO YOU”. I am not a very big fan of Slowthai, and this song didn’t do anything to put me on his side. However, outside of that one track, this is a fantastic album that displays all of the members’ raw emotions and rapping skills.

FAVORITE SONGS: NO HALO, BOY BYE, ST. PERCY, DEARLY DEPARTED, VICTOR ROBERTS

LEAST FAVORITE SONG: HEAVEN BELONGS TO YOU

RATING: 9/10