Album Review: "Fly Exam" by JGivens

   This year has been a great year for music so far. From To Pimp a Butterfly's incredibly captivating and varied music, to Twenty-One Pilots' catchy, meta, and emotional Blurryface, to Father John Misty's debauched hilarity in I Love You Honeybear, I have been blessed with some great albums this year. I have been looking forward to Fly Exam ever since JGivens' released the first single, "Ignorantro." In this song, he unleashes a veritable storm of bars essentially saying he is the best, and all you rappers need to step up your game if you want to even be in the same league as him. He raps over a looping bass line that screams cockiness. It definitely seemed like a new direction for JGivens.

   When JGivens released his next single, "Lost in Space", it became clear that this project wasn't going to be all like "Ignorantro." "Lost in Space" sounded much darker sonically, and JGivens rapped about how lack of community will most often lead to a shipwreck. This intrigued me even further for his album. The variety in just these two songs also made me happy, because if I had a problem with his previous project, El V. Envy, it was the production. Not that the production was bad, but it tended to be too similar from one song to the next.

   Did JGivens meet my expectations, or did he fail to take flight? In short, he soared above my expectations. The album is split into two parts, Side A: So High, opens with "Ignorantro", then goes into "Butterfly Stance." In this song, Liz Vice sings: "You ain't gotta fly so high! You ain't gotta drive so high!" This has a couple meanings as Givens revealed in an interview. He mentioned that many people thought this just meant pride, but it also literally means high as in drugs. Liz Vice is taking on the voice of a friend and telling him he doesn't have to "Drive so high." The first half of the album is JGivens flying higher than anyone in skill, and pride. For example, in "Fahrenheit 99", he says: "And I'm evolving from crying to talking, to telling you: 'I can accomplish more than that God you claim to crawl to.'" He isn't completely ignorant, as there are moments of clarity throughout the first half. In "Butterfly Stance", he says: "Hopeless, I'm hopeless, I wish I'd come home with you so high." In "Attack of the Clones" he says: "They say there's a grace abounding love chasing me, chasing me."

   Side B, So Low, opens with "Lost in Space." Just the title implies that he has flown too far on his own, and is now completely lost. The next song is "Humming Bird Stance", which is the best song on the whole album. JGivens has said the opening lyrics are supposed to be like you are walking into the middle of a conversation. Those opening lyrics ("And so apparently the Everglades are ineligible for Obama Care.") capture your attention and are the perfect way to introduce the lyrical concept of the first verse. Givens talks about suicide using a clever metaphor where buildings and other inanimate objects are used to represent humans. It is a head nodding, and head scratching song. Then, the second verse happens. JGivens is lying on a bathroom floor, trying to kill himself with an overdose. This hits you in the gut, then J asks: "Who is gonna save me?" This leads into "Super Lowkey", whose second verse contains some of my favorite lyrics of the year. (Really the whole album is lyrical goldmine.)

   Icarus is a recurring motif, perfectly reflecting the story on this album. This album is about JGivens flying too close to the sun (Son), he then gets burned, crashing down to earth, but God picks him back up. What about the title? What on earth does that mean? Well, I think the "Fly Exam" is supposed to be the test to get to heaven. JGivens tries to do it on his own and fails miserably, but then he trusts in Jesus who already passed the fly exam for him. This doesn't mean J doesn't still struggle with sin, but he knows his salvation is not reliant on his own actions. This may be completely off base, but it is my stab at the meaning of the title.

   All the various pieces of the album come together to make a masterpiece. JGivens has truly painted a picture with his words that makes you think, feel, and learn. It is a 10/10, the second of the year with To Pimp a Butterfly holding the other one. I recommend this to everyone, especially those who love finding new gems with every listen. What did you think of the album? If you have any thoughts, I'd be glad to hear them. Have an excellent day!