Allan Kingdom, by way of Canada and St. Paul, MN, surprised me with how much I enjoyed his LINES project. My initial contact with Mr. Kingdom came by way of his contributions to Thestand4rd, the group of him, Spooky Black, Bobby Raps and Psymun, and their 2014 self-titled mixtape. It didn’t resonate strongly with me at the time, but that probably has more to do with my then-tastes than the quality of the tape. The same applies for his 2016 solo mixtape Northern Lights, but after briefly sampling both tapes again it’s easier to identify some of Kingdom’s foundational characteristics. He also popped up on the refrain of Kanye West’s smash “All Day” and did more for the song with four lines than a lot of artists would have done with a full verse. But we are here to talk LINES.
The first track is ass. Dangerous game to be playing, Allan. But then those trumpets hit on “Don’t Push Me” and all is forgiven. Neither the beat nor the bars are going to overpower you, but it feels effortlessly cool. The production credit here partially belongs to Dro and SinGrinch, and their fingerprints are all over two of the album’s other standout tracks as well. “Interlude” has Kingdom laying some strange vocals down over Dro’s minimal beat that just bumps along without getting in the way. The interlude is supposed to an intermission/palate cleanser of sorts, but rarely is something so simple executed so well. Another Dro/SinGrinch production collab comes on “Astounded.” The piano keys on the intro set up the huge chorus, bringing a big bass to contrast with some weird hi-hats and background vocals as well as the piano. Kingdom and Finding Novyon (who sounds like a low-budget Ab Soul) wax poetically about women, but Kingdom has the superior verse by far.
There are a few more standouts littered throughout the project. The title track “Lines” with Ramriddlz is a strong, if cheesy, love song of sorts, with Riddlz resisting the urge to go full bore with the autotune on the chorus and actually harmonizes nicely with the smooth synths and little dancehall-esque drums/baseline that give the track some flavor. “The Fusion” features the hardest beat on the project as well as the best feature with Denzel Curry ripping through his verse and Kingdom holding on for dear life. “Leaders” starts out as a hot mess, but once the beat shifts at :40 and again at 1:07, the final beat structure is strong. The lyrical content is also pretty heartfelt as Kingdom touches on not wanting to be a role model for others because of his own flaws and insecurities. The closer “Loner’s Anthem” builds from a subdued baseline and rapping to a full-blown rap ballad with autotuned singing and a beat that just sounds expensive at the end.
There are some tough spots, however. Not to put the dude on blast, but both Ryan Olson-produced tracks (“Feeling Magnetic” and “Questions”) fail to mesh with the rest of the project. Perhaps a different artist could make better use of the rock/punk vibes. As I mentioned, the opener “Perfection” is a total misnomer and just not up to par. On “Vibes,” neither the beat nor the bars are enough to carry the song, and it falls flat. “Down for Me” and “Know About It” aren't necessarily bad, but pretty pedestrian and something we’ve all probably heard before. My real issue is with “Fuck My Enemies.” For some reason, this lazy, cliched, boring song has the most plays on SoundCloud by a mile. I'd expect more from both Kingdom and Kevin Abstract, who we know can make quality tracks.
Still, this was a great listen. Kingdom mentions Kanye and Kid Cudi as two of his main influences, and while traces of their respective styles are strong undercurrents on the album, Kingdom has a style all his own. He thrives on cool, effortless rapping/singing and beats that match his style without overpowering it or hanging it out to dry. We know he can rap hard and we know he can sing when he wants to, but for the most part he hangs in a comfortable middle ground between the two, switching back and forth from chorus to verse. His struggles come when the beats are not in his wheelhouse or when he gets lazy on the mic. That being said, the hits outweigh the misses on LINES and both fans of Allan as well as those looking for a relaxed, interesting listen will find something to enjoy here.