Kodak Black – Painting Pictures

Given that the only narrative arc with as much scope to it as Kodak’s elevation of his status into both a local folk hero and a veritable cult hero a la a Gucci Mane or Boosie to his rapidly growing legion of fans is the constant specter of legal troubles that has haunted his young career so far, its fitting that rather than with lyrics or a catchy chorus, his debut album Painting Pictures begins with just a stark, minimalist medley of clips from the news of newscasters reading off headlines mentioning his indictments, house arrests, parole violations, no contest pleas, etc. “You know I’m a hot boy, but I never lose my cool, the streets on fire, that’s why I’m riding with a tool,” he raps over the understated, twinkling production from Ben Billions after this on the excellent, minimalist album intro “Day for Day”, who produced many songs on this album. He reminisces on lost friends, both to death and incarceration, like his childhood friend Cool, who he has already done a separate song about (Free Cool). You get a sense of the heaviness he has already felt on his shoulders at a young age from these losses as well as from the pressure on him that he feels (whether internal, external, or both) to succeed for those around him, “I ain’t tryna see the pen I’m tryna make it shake, neighborhood hero I’m the one who gon save the day, chosen one; my folks depend on me to make a way, I do it for my niggas locked up doing day for day.”

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