Compton rapper Boogie released “Everything’s For Sale,” his debut album, Jan. 25. In it, he envelops his real-life experiences with deep, melodic flows and beats. This is Boogie’s first project released under Shady Records, Eminem’s label.
Anthony “Boogie” Dixson was signed to Shady Records in October of 2017, roughly a year after releasing his third mixtape “Thirst 48 pt. II.”
“Everything’s For Sale” has guest appearances from J.I.D., 6LACK, Snoh Aalegra, Christian Scott and Eminem.
“Boogie is everything I look for in an MC,” Eminem said in the Shady Records press release. “Unique voice and point of view combined with crazy wordplay. This is a great fit and I’m excited for what’s to come.”
This evaluation of Boogie is ratified in the first song “Tired/Reflections.” He opens the album with a verse that is more spoken word than rap which brings up some of the complications he faces while creating music.
“They like, “N**** we tired of hearin’ you poor,” he starts. “Out your heart about how you in the struggle and how you at war/With yourself and how you not confident and you insecure.”
Boogie seems tired of the people who would rather hear something superficial than a real narrative of his life. He says that he would rather be perfect than continue working to be better and that he would rather know everything for certain instead of trying new things and potentially failing. It is clear that he knows self-improvement and experimentation are necessary; infinite knowledge and perfection are easy but unrealistic.
“Silent Ride” is the second song and the promotional single for the album. The melodic beat allows him to sing the chorus which revolves around his self-criticism. The second verse is based on his experience of when his girlfriend looked through his phone while he was driving home. She tries to hide her feelings, but they are exposed by the music she plays leading to a silent ride home.
Boogie’s singing on “Swap Meet” is raw and emotional. He compares the bargains of a flea market to the compromises his love interests have made despite his less than fortunate circumstances.
“Soho” allows Boogie and J.I.D. to vent their issues with the South Hollywood lifestyle-specifically fake friends and superficial, overdone social media. The music video portrays these concepts in multiple different ways in photo shoots with several photographers trying to change the rappers’ images.
“Rainy Days” captured many people’s immediate attention because of Eminem’s feature. This is the first time the two have collaborated. They rap about the current state of the genre and Boogie talks about his experience since signing to Shady Records. Eminem talks about the controversial reactions to his most recent album “Kamikaze,” which received mixed reviews from the hip-hop community after he dissed or name-dropped almost every mainstream rapper. He talks about how people said they preferred his music when he was addicted to drugs and emotionally unstable.
Boogie says that a huge push for him to take his music more seriously was the 2009 birth of his son. He enrolled in Long Beach City College to study recording arts and used his financial aid for recording equipment. His first two mixtapes were dropped on his son’s birthday. Overall, “Everything’s For Sale” is a pretty phenomenal debut album. I rate it a 4/5 and look forward to what Boogie has in store for his audience.
Mitchell Kret can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_arts on Twitter.
