Arguably one of the most talented and creatively charged producers and artists of the last few years, Big O has spent the last few years releasing evocative, honest, and wonderfully introspective releases. With two significant albums already to his name, the 2022 split release with Tranzformer, and this year’s immersive ‘Reflection of HE’, Big O has more than proved his talents.
Not content to simply sit back and let the rest of the year roll on, Big O has just shared a brand new conceptual album titled ‘In the Company of Others’, and in typical form, we couldn’t wait to sink our teeth into it. An album built in three parts, it’s an ensnaring saga that delves into the power of influence, or as Big O explained, “[it] lets listener's know what and who influence them into the people they are now.”
A massive collaborative piece that sees Big O joining forward with an impressive roster of featured artists, ‘In the Company of Others’ shares sixteen slices of Big O’s poetic refrains and captivating instrumental passages. Opening with ‘Where ‘We’re Meant To Be (Intro)’, we’re welcomed into an empowering, spoken word piece, one that rallies around gentle, shifting melodies and a stark empowering message. From there, Big O conjures up a tightly woven tapestry of cascading beats, shifting tempos, and nostalgic, instantly relatable sounds, blurring the lines between genres and delivering a masterclass in modern hip-hop.
‘A Cause For Concern’ featuring L.O.U. and P-Rwab is as close to modern rap perfection as you can find, letting each artist find their space, while constantly pushing forward with a sharp instrumental track, while elsewhere, ‘Generational Curses’ and ‘Green With Envy’ shines through cinematic flourishes and deftly selected audio cuts. Big O has always had a strong ability to seamlessly blend tracks, melodies, and vocals into rich, kaleidoscopic pieces, and on ‘Vantage Point of View’, he’s absolutely perfected it, with Big O, Dray Taylor, Lynx 196.9, and Nique Robinson flowing together to create one of the most authentic and engaging songs on the album.
When he spoke about the new album with us, Big O announced, “This is my first producer based album and it features artists like Fashawn, Dankery Harv, L.O.U., P-Rawb, Loki Loko & many more. This passion project of mine has been in the works since 2018 and on September 1st, you all will finally get to listen to my vision.”
As one track ends, it doesn’t take long for the next to draw you into its spell, and it’s incredible how releases can stand tall with it’s own character, while also fitting into the expansive saga that Big O has created. From smooth RnB tones in ‘Ms. Takes’ and golden age sounds on ‘Seasonal People’, to the honest, emotional undertones of ‘Dark Bright’ and lyrical prowess of ‘The World Is Mine’, the album encompasses everything that Big O has been working towards and delivers it in one nearly flawless record.
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