No Pressure is the sixth studio album by American rapper Logic. It was released through Def Jam Recordings and Visionary Music Group on July 24, 2020. The production on the album was handled by Logic himself, No I.D., 6ix, and FnZ, among others. No Pressure contains samples from different classic radio shows, with the final track on the album being solely an excerpt from Orson Welles Commentaries. The album was marketed as Logic's final commercial release, however, this statement was retracted upon the release of Logic's following mixtape Bobby Tarantino III. It was supported by the single "Perfect", which was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio on August 11, 2020.[2]
No Pressure received critical acclaim upon release and was considered a return to form for the Maryland MC following his 2019 studio effort Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was met with mostly negative reviews. Many critics also commended him for his writing, vocal performances, and for returning to his roots. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, earning 221,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It debuted behind Taylor Swift's eighth studio album, Folklore. Shortly after his retirement, Logic embarked on a streaming career on Twitch. On June 16, 2021, Logic announced his comeback from retirement.
Background and release
On July 16, 2020, Logic announced the album and also announced that the album would be his last as he would be retiring. [3][4][5][6] In the tweet, he stated that it had been a "great decade", and it was time to "be a great father."[7] The next day, he debuted photos of his son, "Little Bobby".[8] His son is also credited as a songwriter on the twelfth track, "A2Z".[9] However, Logic returned to rapping on June 16, 2021.
To celebrate the release, Logic had a "release party extravaganza" on Twitch, where, after playing the album, he became emotional while thanking his fans and other rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake for how their contributions as his contemporaries inspire him and support him, whether they know it or not.[10][11][12]
Music videos for the tracks "DadBod" and "Aquarius III" were released in the week following the album's release.[13]
The ending track, "Obediently Yours", uses a sample from the July 28, 1946 episode of Welles's Orson Welles Commentaries.[14][15] Many listeners praised the usage of samples from Welles, including his commentary on the Isaac Woodard case. Beatrice Welles, his youngest daughter, commented that she "was pleased with the final product and thrilled that her father's message on racism from 76 years ago has struck a chord with a younger audience".[18]
No Pressure received generally positive reviews from critics, with some calling it a return to form for the Maryland MC. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 78, based on six reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[19] It is the highest score in Logic's discography.
Will Lavin of NME gave the album four out of five stars, saying that the album "continues the trend even as he bids farewell to the art form that raised him and gave him a platform to speak his truth."[23] A.D. Amorosi of Variety said that the album is a "solid, soulful finale" for his career, and that Logic was in his best, "kid-like Q-Tip mode."[26][27] Tim Hoffman of RIFF magazine gave the album an 8/10, calling it a "masterful final release" for Logic.[25]
In the review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas called it one of Logic's "best and most enjoyable albums, wrapping up an electrified run with his most clearheaded and honest material yet."[20] Donna-Claire Chesman and Yoh Phillips of DJBooth both praised the rapper for having the album be "driven by love" of life, self, music, and "all the feel-good emotions",[28] as well as finally "finding balance" with himself.[29] Judah Charles Lotter of Meaww called the album a "powerful and infectiously catchy swansong album."[30]
No Pressure debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 221,000 album-equivalent units (including 172,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week.[34] This became Logic's seventh US top-ten debut.[34] The album also accumulated a total of 65.16 million on-demand streams of the set's tracks in the week ending August 8.[34]
"No Pressure Intro" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and David Hayter.
"Hit My Line" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and Keenen Wayans.
"GP4" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse, No I.D., and Tramayne "TMan" Hudson.
"Celebration" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse, and uncredited vocals by Silas.
"Open Mic\\Aquarius III" features additional vocals by Damian Hudson.
"Soul Food II" features additional vocals by 6ix, Anna Elyse, Big Pep, Bobby Campbell, Brittney Noell Hall, Jordan "Bo" Harris, Josh Lippi, Kevin Randolph, Maui Marc, Rhetorik, Steve Wyreman, and The Homies.
"Perfect" features uncredited additional vocals by Juicy J[36] and additional vocals by Anna Elyse.
"Man I Is" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and Lil' Keke.
"A2Z" features additional vocals from Anna Elyse, Little Bobby, Steve Blum, and Tramayne "TMan" Hudson.
"Amen" features additional vocals from Kevin Randolph and Steve Blum.
"Hit My Line" contains a sample of "We Got Love", written by Alan Hawkshaw, and performed by Sunny; and uncredited elements of "Attention", written by Robert Hunt, and performed by Head West.
"Celebration" contains a sample from "A World Without You", written by Jeffrey Smith, Dana Middleton, Thomas Bell and Linda Epstein, and performed by Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr; and uncredited samples of "One Man Band", written by Milton Brand, and performed by Monk Higgins.
"Soul Food II" contains samples of "Soul Food", written by Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Alkebulan Williams and Arjun Ivatury, and performed by Logic; samples of "Choose", written by Matthew Crabtree, and performed by MTK; and an uncredited sample of "Maldonne", written and performed by Christiane Legrand.
"Perfect" contains elements of the video game Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.
"Man I Is" contains a sample from "Dreamflower", written by Phillip Clendeninn, and performed by Tarika Blue; a sample of "Knockin' Doorz Down", written by Chad Butler, Marcus Edwards, Michael Shawn Robinson and Marvin Rucker, and performed by Pimp C; and a sample of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious", written by Benjamin, Patton, and Patrick Brown, and also performed by Outkast.
"5 Hooks" contains samples of "Grown Up Calls", written by Chazwick Bundick, and performed by Toro y Moi.
"Dark Place" contains samples of "Theme From the Planets", written and performed by Dexter Wansel; and a sample from Status of People, written and performed by Alan Watts.
