Album Review: G-Eazy – These Things Happen
3 min read
To be labelled “The James Dean of Rap” is a nice compliment. An iconic figure of the 1950’s, James Dean had swag dripping from head to toe while being looked upon as a representative for the misunderstood youth of his time. G-Eazy definitely fits the 50’s look with his tapered haircut and leather jacket looking like a member of the T-Birds from the movie Grease. His latest album These Things Happen definitely appeals to a younger audience who want to have the same experience he has where girls, money and fame are the rewards for working hard.
Growing up in Oakland, California Gerard Gillum a.k.a. G-Eazy built a name for himself on the local Hip Hop scene producing mixtapes and rapping in a group called the “Bay Boyz”. With the success of his mixtapes and other tracks on My Space and Youtube has then come opportunities to open for big name acts like Drake, Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. Amongst that he has toured extensively doing every possible show, meeting up with every fan and talking about his ambitions to no longer open for the big names but to be one.
The album itself reflects much of what his current experiences are while remembering what he had to do to make it. For example lyrics from a verse in the album title track These Things Happen “Party in a penthouse, until I pass the f*** out, reminiscing being broke hoping I would luck out” describe life now where everything is one big party while remembering the time spent struggling and trying to get to where he is now.
He gets emotional with a very chilled rap vocal on Complete. It’s about a girl that has stuck by him through good and bad and now with his success he’s gonna get her the dream house and holiday she always wanted. Tracks like Just Believe, Almost Famous & Been On talk specifically about the struggles of dealing with fame, what’s important and his ambitions to make it to the top. With topics like this being the foundation to his songs I feel he unnecessarily adds references to girls and partying that detract from what he is trying to say. We all like a good hearty meat pie but not when there’s more filler then meat in it.
The album overall doesn’t depart from talking about these same topics. The songs are quite slow as well with no real change in energy throughout the album. Artist like Macklemore and Drake who have influenced G-Eazy have more variety musically on there albums with uptempo and slow songs, whereas the production for this album in general is very airy and colorless. For example Started From The Bottom by Drake captures rags to riches in one song whereas G-Eazy spends an entire album saying it in a kind of bland way.
He may be referenced for his looks to iconic figures like James Dean and Elvis Presley but his impact on society so far is yet to be seen. I’m sure over time as he continues to establish his career and further collaborate with other producers and artists I think G-Eazy will reach those heights he’s aiming for, but not just yet.
