It Was Good Until It Wasn’t
One of my favorite modern R&B records. One thing to know about me is R&B is one of the genres I am pickiest about. Just like how people complain about all reggaeton songs sounding the same because of their dem bow beat, I often feel R&B songs, by nature, sound very similar and I struggle to differentiate between them. They really blur into one another for me, especially songs on the same album. Not only, I feel as though they are often some of the least dynamic songs. I can’t separate the verse from the chorus or find any highs and lows. Of course, some of this is intentional. It is intended to be smooth and soulful and rhythmic. But does it always have to put me to sleep? Kehlani has proven that it does not.
I was so happy to see Kehlani fully embrace R&B on this record. While some of the tracks on her previous records were fierce (and some were… well, straight-up unlistenable), she had a more young, pop sound at the time. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t worked because her full embrace of R&B coincided with a musical maturation. On IWGUIT, she seems in-control. Calm and collected and in charge of her power. I think one of the biggest indicators of both her musical and personal maturation is the shift away from signing and towards rapping. She has a truly beautiful voice, and I think at the right times, it can melt me. However, I think her singing was a bit overdone on the previous records. The controlled, sometimes speech-paced rapping (sprinkled with melodic R&B ballads) on IWGUIT is critical to making the record how sexy it is. As mentioned earlier, another highlight is just how dynamic the record is. Each track is well written with plenty of tempo changes, and the album throughout changes in vibe and rhythm many times.
Overall, Kehlani serves us track-to-track freshness and variety on IWGUIT, with the perfect blend of self-love hype, hate sex chronicles, and in-my-feels realness. The skits and features also contributed significantly to the album feeling like a masterful coherent piece of work.
