It’s the fourth quarter and Def Pen is finishing the year strong. Each morning at 10 a.m. CT, you can expect a piece of original content. Mondays are for the “Morning Mile,” Tuesdays are for “First To The Aux” features, Wednesdays are for “Album Exit Surveys,” Thursdays are for “Elevator Interviews” and Fridays are for “Overreaction Fridays.” What can you expect from “Album Exit Survey” pieces? It’s an informal variation of the traditional album review. Instead of paragraphs describing the album’s sound, we run down our initial thoughts, listening experiences, hopes, etc. in a few short questions.
Initial Thoughts
There are two types of people in the world. First, there are those who enjoy listening to R&B as the leaves fall from the sky and your significant other that’s not your significant other tries to steal your hoodies.
Side note, stop doing the sh*t. It’s not ok and uncalled for. Now, back to the topic at hand.
Then, you have the other group. Those who don’t know love and need a hug. Why don’t you like listening to R&B in the fall and winter?
If you’re in the second group, there’s not much that can be done for you other than to call a therapist. For those of us that love R&B in the colder months, here’s a treat. It’s called California by Reggie Becton.
Over the course of a dozen tracks, California presents itself much like my experience watching Jordan Peele’s Us. At first, I watched the film and walked away thinking the album had one underlying meaning. Then, I watched the film a year later and thought Peele was trying to convey another theme through the film. After the third time, I stopped trying to make sense of it and enjoyed the movie without psychoanalyzing it like a film critic. The same could be said about my experience listening to California.
After listening to it to for the first time, I was under the impression that it was an album love and romantic connections. Thn, I spoke to Reggie and learned that the album may not have been as romantic as I thought. Instead, songs like “Scratches In The Mirror” and “Depresshun” may have been written with platonic and familial relationships in mind. One month later, I’ve learned that the album is whatever I need it to be and that’s the point when an album can become great. Music is a tool for coping, celebration and much more. In my opinion, the best albums can be classified as Swiss army knives. They can adapt to whatever you need them to be and that’s the best tool you can ever have.
Exit Survey: California by Reggie Becton
What were your expectations of this album before you first heard it?
If you haven’t realized this yet, I am an odd person who is a bit self-indulgent at times. So, this answer will probably come off as odd, but f*ck it. After “Issues” was released a few months ago, I pictured myself listening to this album for the first time as I ate good food, enjoyed an edible or two and reminisced about past relationships that I messed up. Looking back at it, that was a mistake. As a listener and a writer, it is important to come into a project without any major expectations. Why? The singles may not match up with the project’s overall goal. Also, it is important to let the artist present their art in the way they wish to without the listener forcing the art to fit into their narrative of what it is supposed to be. I came into this project with my own “first-listen” expectations and over time, I had to let those go. I thought I was getting this album about romantic relationships, but what I received had a lot more weight to it than a superficial story about sex, drunk texts and the bright lights of Los Angeles.
What was your favorite song on the album?
“Depresshun” was easily my favorite track on this project. Upon hearing it for the first time, I immediately thought of the beanie that Reggie Becton rocks as a nod to Marvin Gaye. While Gaye is known for records like “Let’s Get It On” and “Sexual Healing,” he’s also known for making “What’s Going On.” As a listner, I truly enjoy songwriters that can use their vocals to address everyday issues like mental health, economic burdens, social justice, etc. Yes, R&B is always going to have room for songs about breakups and falling in love, but the genre has been and will always be more than that. Becton’s ability to dive straight into mental health on track two made me sit back in my chair and say, “Wow, he’s doing it.” Not to mention, Shah Infinite and Chris Patrick did their thing on this song. The run that Shah Infinite hits from the 1:33 mark to the start of Chris Patrick’s verse makes you feel like you’re on Cloud 9. It also doesn’t hurt that the song has my favorite bar of the entire album.
“You probably can’t see it because of how I’m dressing. I make it look good. I make it look sexy. I’ve been dealing with depression.”
What is the one thing you would change about the album?
There isn’t anything I want to change because I want to hear what Reggie Becton wanted me to hear.
With that said, I do not want to give a cop out answer, so I will name something. Over the years, I’ve been called out for saying that Take Care is not a classic album. While true, the issues I have with Take Care have nothing to do with the music Drake made. That project had an undeniable impact on music and produced hit after hit after hit. With that said, I’ve always had two issues. First, I hate “Marvin’s Room” from a moral standpoint. I would go more into that, but it’s not important for the purpose of this discussion. The second issue I have with Take Care is the track sequencing. Why is “Look What You’ve Done” followed by “HYFR” and “Practice”? While 16-year-old Ryan Shepard loved seeing Kyra Chaos in the unofficial “Practice” video, I did not necessarily want to hear a Juvenile “Back That Azz Up” sample come minutes after hearing Drake rap about how the women in his family shaped him into the man he is today. I just needed a bit more separation between the songs.
I went off on that long tangent to make one point. If I absolutely had to make one change to the album, I would change the sequencing. I would have pushed back “Issues” and “So High” because I may be weird in a way. When I listen to an album for the first time, I gravitate to the newer stuff, but I also want to listen to the album in the way it was intended to be listened to. So, it kind of threw me off when I heard “Depresshun” out of the gate and I was amazed. Then, I heard “Issues” and “So High” with Ryahn, which I also love but I have heard before, right afterward. It’s a minor change that really didn’t impact how I view the album.
What is the most underrated part of the album?
Oh, the skits. It’s easily the skits. Actually, I don’t know if I can call them skits. I really enjoyed the little voicemails in between tracks. The one at the end of “Amnesia” just caught me because there’s a line that really touched me. The person said, “Everything that’s damaged can’t even be fixed.” As someone who has dealt with depression, attempted to take his own life multiple times and so on, I really connected with that line because it’s true. Not every emotion that’s damaged can be fixed. Not every friendship or relationship that’s broken can be fixed and not everyone that is damaged can be resurrected.
What is one question that you’d ask Reggie Becton?
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable asking the question that I’d like to know the answer to. There’s a track called “Amnesia” featuring Ye Ali and Reggie Becton gets off an incredible line. He said, “I never loved you and I’ve been f*cking around with your best friend.” Sir? Is everything ok? I have questions. With that said, that’s too personal of a question to ask.
Realistically, the question I’d like to ask is about “Losers.” It’s the penultimate track on the album and it’s nearly six minutes. As someone who grew up loving songs like “Pyramids” by Frank Ocean and “Tunnel Vision” by Justin Timberlake, I really do appreciate someone taking us back to the days of five, six and even seven minute tracks. I’d just like to know what drove him to make a song of that length and if he’d be open to doing it moving forward.
What would you want to say to Reggie Becton if he were reading this?
Yes, I absolutely got the idea for this last question from Dead End Hip Hop. Shoutout to Dead End Hip Hop. Shoutout to any Black-owned media outlet. Check out their work. They did a review of Reggie Becton’s previous project, Thank You For Listenin’, too.
I would tell Reggie Becton thank you. Thank you for giving us this piece of work. Thank you for taking the chance on yourself by moving from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and pursuing your passion. Above all else, thank you for being authentic. Everytime I hear Reggie Bection sing, I can relate to it in a very real way because he’s honest and comes across as a very genuine person. It could be because he still works a “9-5” like many of us. It could also be because he took a chance on himself and pursued his dream, which is something many of us want to do. In the end, I just want him to get the credit he deserves for not only putting out a great album, but I also want him to get the credit for being consistent. I caught wind of his music in 2019, but he had been doing big things before that. Through it all, the quality of the music has remained the same over the last few years. As a listener, that draws me in because I know whatever he gives on his next single, mixtape, album, etc. will be of a high quality. That’s why I’m a fan of 6LACK, Aminé, Wale and so many others. Everything they put out is up to their standard. That’s all we can ask as listeners.
