“Breathing Room” is a hip-hop album by artist Fenni Casino. Throughout the 21 tracks, I was thoroughly impressed with the variety and quality of rapping and singing that the album had to offer. Fenni comes across as a rapper who can adapt to the beat he is rapping on and use his features creatively to compliment his style.
Let’s first talk about the production of this album. The instrumentals and beats vary from an organic jazz suite to electronic trap beats, and the result is almost always sonically pleasing. Tracks such as Encore capture the top-notch production that Breathing Room offers to its listeners. Furthermore, using varied beats gives the utility of transporting listeners to different dimensions whether they are darker or lighter in tone.
From the first track Conversation, I was introduced to Fenni’s persona as an artist. The track’s heartfelt piano background along with supporting background vocals helped sketch out an atmosphere that suited Fenni’s flow. Encore had a rich orchestra that incorporated Fenni’s clever wordplay. Not even a single bar was filler or throwaway. Focus was a dreamy track with a slower flow as Fenni took his time with the beat. I enjoyed the supporting vocals that gave a special aura to the track. After this initial introduction to the album, the first half was filled with varying beats and styles that showed Casino’s multi-dimensionality and flexibility as a rapper. Black Diamonds was a banger with a darker flow where Casino reflects on his come-up. Ferraris was another banger with a stronger trap essence. The pacing slows down with Something Special which is a slow sensual track that borders as an R&B track. Living life was also a sonically different track with Casino’s faster flow laid on over an EDM-like electronic beat. The second half of the album seems to switch it up in terms of introducing more introspective tracks that showcase Casino’s thoughtfulness and his connection with an inner consciousness.
Feel Me is a track that is dominated by melodic singing and Casino’s inspirational verse about struggling against the odds and dealing with hard times. It was something I needed to hear. DARE is where Casino lays down his mission about chasing dreams and achieving utter excellence. The “Nothing’s set in stone you have to rush more” bar got a chuckle out of me. Take it Slow is a slow song with a trance-inducing vibe that is immediately followed by 5Ft Elephant: a banger with a minimal beat. The last few tracks stood out to me because they offered a mesmerizing closing to the album. WE Different was Casino’s statement about not following the mainstream while SOMEDAY was a heartfelt song. The album ends on a deeply spiritual note with Glory which draws inspiration from gospel music. It reminded me of new Ye and was all about being thankful and appreciative to God and accepting oneself.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to the album as it introduced me to so many varied sounds, instruments, and above all Casino’s immaculate and adaptive flows. I highly recommend listening to this amazing work of art when it releases in January 2022.
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