BLACKSTARKIDS is a music trio that can not be put in a box. Deiondre, Gabe, and Ty make nostalgic bangers in a variety of genres and they kill it each time. This ten-track album titled “Whatever, Man” provides experimental pop, hip hop, and indie jams with radio show bits in between that add nostalgia and make for a fun listen from start to finish.
Track One: ACTING NORMAL
The feel-good vibes are strong as soon as the album starts, with an introduction to the album and dreamy pop music. The lyrics are relatable to any creative. Listening to this on the way to your 9-5 might just inspire you to take a detour and go on an adventure instead.
Track Two: DEAD KENNEDYS
This track is another feel-good quit your job song, and we’re living for it. Lyrics in the chorus talk about how monotonous everyday life can be and how we should all just stop working and be gay performers, which is the REAL American Dream if you ask me. Overcoming generational trauma and finding happiness and purpose in everyday life is a difficult task, and BLACKSTARKIDS portrays this perfectly in this track.
Track Three: FRANKIE MUNIZ
“FRANKIE MUNIZ” is a bittersweet Gen-Z love song. With lyrics like “lighting up your phone with a text, hope I’m not blocked on the ‘gram,” and “might dye my hair pink because you dyed yours gray, just a couple kids trying to dye our problems away,” this song is about falling in love and growing apart with a modern twist. This song ends with another radio-bit that gives you three great rules to follow for shows: tip performers, ask pronouns, and stop leaving your cigarettes on the ground.
Track Four: CIGARETTES
This genre-bending song is about falling for someone at the wrong time and smoking the stress and pain away. It dives into those feelings of wishing someone had stayed a simple crush rather than becoming close and falling apart.
Track Five: FRIENDSHIP
“FRIENDSHIP” is one of my personal favorite tracks on this album. The lyrics are beyond wholesome and I want to send it to everyone I love. This song is about how important friends are and how special they are. When BLACKSTARKIDS said “I really do adore all my friends” we all felt that.
Track Six: BRITNEY BITCH
This nostalgia-inducing track is about wanting to live luxuriously. This track has a super fun beat and lyrics that reference several 2000’s pop stars and MySpace- the social media website that reigned supreme in that era. While this entire album has strong 2000’s nostalgia vibes, “BRITNEY BITCH,” really seals it.
Track Seven: TANGERINE LOVE
“TANGERINE LOVE” is a love song as sweet as tangerines with a chorus repeating “I wanna feel this way forever.” The lyrics paint a picture of two lovers meeting at a party, hitting it off, and making time for each other. This song will make your heart swell.
Track Eight: BEATRIX KIDDO
This edgy track starts off with lyrics like “seems like everyone’s depressed, f*ck, I’d rather be mad.” Lyrics call out cops, the system, and touch on mental illness. BLACKSTARKIDS did an amazing job portraying complicated feelings that come with depression.
Track Nine: CAMP WHATEVER
This song talks about a lot of issues that people with depression or other mental illnesses may struggle with, such as being stuck in one place and hoping for brighter days, and attempting to step outside of the thoughts that weigh you down. It can be hard to really appreciate the beauty in everyday life when plagued with depression, but escaping from the prison in your mind and enjoying the little things, or visit “Camp Whatever,” is the best thing you can do.
Track Ten: LETS PLAY GOD
Everyone loves a little bit of chaotic fun with their friends, and this is the perfect track for those times. Lyrics full of daydreams about doing drugs and leaving town, this song really hits on the freedom that can come from stepping away from your roots and doing whatever you want to do without concern for judgment of others.
This album as a whole has immaculate vibes from start to finish, with relatable lyrics and a unique sound. Whatever, Man is pure art made up from pieces of the 2000’s and modern culture, making this album nostalgic but fresh and new at the same time.
