Sizable net worth is no remedy for ennui, a truth Tyler, the Creator and Vince Staples made central themes of their most recent work. “Big Fish Theory,” the Long Beach, Calif., rapper’s second full-length album, pairs his sharp wit with frantic club music — the percipient thoughts of the present over the manic sounds of the future. But as much as “Big Fish Theory” is an eye-roll to fame, it’s more a meditation on the struggle to find meaningful human connection amid a world of deceit. The mistrust creates isolation — a feeling Tyler, the Creator explores throughout “Flower Boy.”Staples’s album “Big Fish Theory” deals with romantic misfortune. Lonely,” a mellow yet urgent request for companionship: “Five-car garage, full tank of the gas / But that don’t mean nothin’, nothin’, nothin’, nothin’ without you shotgun in the passenger / I’m the loneliest man alive, but I keep on dancing to throw them off.” After pausing for jokes at one point — he riffed that the crowd was the blackest he’d seen during the tour, even after a stop in Atlanta — he proceeded to the song’s second half.

Source: Washington Post February 26, 2018 20:48 UTC