Twenty88

While 2016 had been an action packed year of music, Twenty88 managed to stay in rotation. But this review will be rather quick, because before it's done the album’s run time might be over. It starts with a slowed down BPM-altered sample of Xscape– that sounds like the vibes of ‘90s R&B boybands such as K-Ci & JoJo. The iconic R&B duo would appear on “2 Minute Warning” later in the album, delivering a talkbox hook. The song features their “yeah ee yeah” screams and ad-libs, as a cell phone tweaks out in the background, with Jhené layering that in the background. “2 Minute Warning” ultimately belongs to Big Sean, who makes sure not to slip up the momentum. It’s where he sounds the most confident.

“Déjà vu” sounds like a continuation of the trapsoul sound that Bryson Tiller perfected on TRAPSOUL . Big Sean and Jhené Aiko sing about “all the nights you used to fall through” as it seems their relationship has hit some turbulence. Their tone sounds like robots on the hook, as they argue over their verses. That would be one of the revolving themes of the album. “Talk Show” is accented by a flute, where they present rebuttals to each other.

The music video features them on a ‘70s style talk show spilling their confessions. At one point Big Sean raps, “You got these people inside our business/Like U and I is.” Obviously that is word play for the word “business,” but the way he raps it, you will hear “you a Naya.” That crafty wordplay at the time marked a reference to his ex, Naya Rivera, who Big Sean dated in 2013 and 2014, before recording his smash hit “I Don’t F*ck With You.” Earlier in that verse he said “I never called you a b!tch,” but in “IDFWY” that’s what he calls Rivera in the infamous hook that would be shouted in clubs. After the “U and I is” verse, he laughs and follows with “You probably didn’t even catch that did you.”

[Editorial note: After Naya Rivera tragically passed away in 2020, Big Sean has went on the record with ‘Vulture’ to say that he regrets recording “IDFWY”, chalking it up to them being young in a very public break up, but ultimately forgiving each other before her death.]

On “Selfish” there is a knocking go-go beat that continues the tension, with a phone ringing in the background and feedback from a phone empty on the other end. Big Sean kills it while rapping fast, but it’s Jhené who once again takes over the song. In a way, although Big Sean holds his own, this album moreso proved that she could fit into the waves of hip hop as it turned through the stages of R&B. Then at the end there is a “breakdown” as Big Sean puts it where everything slows down and the beat mellows it.

“On The Way” rides on the beat of trap&B with the elements of ‘90s R&B. This song sounds like the element of Big Sean, as it closely aligns with the style of music he became globally known for since releasing Finally Famous . Jhené, on the opposite end, proves that she was one of hip hop’s best hook and verse carriers of that generation of music– her attitude giving what she accomplished successfully on “Post To Be.” “We stress/We grind/One time/Three times/You time/Me time/We time/We roll/Tree time/Rewind/Late night/Be mine,” they drag out the final outro verse. That leads into the slow tempo of “Push It” which combines sexually explicit quiet storm with a jungle hip hop motion.

In the last stretch, “Memories Faded” and “London Bridge” goes into the reconciliation portion. “Memories Faded” is reminiscent of what Jhené did on “Drunk Texting” with Chris Brown. In the background a slurred beat harps in the background– “way too long I’mma stay alone” she breaks down in a drunken manner. It’s a drunk confessional for both, where she even confesses, “ And if that bitch over there, I hit her in the face/You know who I'm talking 'bout or naw?” In the background at one point, we can even hear Big Sean saying “you’re my favorite. Finally, “London Bridge” sounds like the closing ballad that it’s meant to be. They don’t want to break up because “the kids will sing about us” just like the tragic fable tale.