No Pressure (album)

No Pressure is the sixth and final studio album by American rapper Logic. The album was announced on July 16, 2020 on his Twitter, with Logic also announcing that he would be retiring from music soon due to the up taking of the father role of his recently born son. It was released on July 24, 2020 via Def Jam Recordings and Visionary Music Group. The album received acclaim from critics, many of whom commended Logic for returning to his roots.

No Pressure
Studio album by Logic
Released	July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24)
Genre	Hip hop[1]
Length	59:48
Label	Def Jam Visionary
Producer	Logic (also exec.) No I.D. (also exec.) Chris Zarou (also exec.) 2forwOyNE 6ix FnZ Gravez Kajo Keanu Beats Like Maneesh Bidaye MTK Post Toro y Moi
Logic chronology
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2019) No Pressure (2020)
Singles from No Pressure
"Perfect" Released: August 11, 2020[2]

Background and release

The album was announced by Logic on July 16, 2020, on his Twitter account, with Logic also announcing that the album would be his last as he would be retiring.[3][4][5][6] In the tweet, he stated that it had been a "great decade", and it was time to "be a great father."[7] The next day, he debuted photos of his son, "Little Bobby".[8] His son is credited as a writer on the track "A2Z".[9]

To celebrate the release, Logic had a "release party extravaganza", where he cried, thanking other rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Drake for their support.[10][11][12]

Videos for the tracks "DadBod" and "Aquarius III" were released in the week following the album's release.[13]

Composition and recording

Opening track "No Pressure" features a sample from Orson Welles's The Hitch-Hiker, with Logic cutting in the script with words and phrases.[14][15] The track also features David Hayter, reprising his role as Solid Snake.[16][17]

The ending track, "Obediently Yours", uses a sample from the July 28, 1946 episode of Welles's Orson Welles Commentaries.[14][15] Many listeners praised the usage of samples from Welles, including his commentary on the Isaac Woodard case. Beatrice Welles, his youngest daughter, commented that she "was pleased with the final product and thrilled that her father's message on racism from 76 years ago has struck a chord with a younger audience".[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Album of the Year	73/100[19]
Metacritic	78/100[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[21]
Entertainment Weekly	B[22]
HipHopDX	3/5[23]
NME	[24]
Our Culture Mag	[25]
RIFF	8/10[26]

No Pressure was met with critical acclaim upon release with some calling it a return to form for the Maryland MC. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 78, based on 5 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[20] It is the highest score in Logic's discography. Album of the Year gave the album a score of 73 based on 5 critic reviews.

Will Lavin of NME gave the album four out of five stars, saying that the album "continues the trend even as he bids farewell to the art form that raised him and gave him a platform to speak his truth."[24] A.D. Amorosi of Variety said that the album is a "solid, soulful finale" for his career, and that Logic was in his best, "kid-like Q-Tip mode."[27][28] Tim Hoffman of RIFF magazine gave the album an 8/10, calling it a "masterful final release" for Logic.[26]

In the review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas called it one of Logic's "best and most enjoyable albums, wrapping up an electrified run with his most clearheaded and honest material yet."[21] Donna-Claire Chesman and Yoh Phillips of DJBooth both praised the rapper for having the album be "driven by love" of life, self, music, and "all the feel-good emotions",[29] as well as finally "finding balance" with himself.[30] Judah Charles Lotter of Meaww called the album a "powerful and infectiously catchy swansong album."[31]

Commercial performance

No Pressure debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 221,000 album-equivalent units (including 172,000 pure album sales) in its first week, becoming the rapper's sixth top 5 album. The album also accumulated a total of 65.16 million on-demand streams of the set's tracks in the week ending August 8.[32]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal.[33]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"No Pressure" (Intro)	Sir Robert Bryson Hall II Gabriel Stevenson Orson Welles	Like	2:54
2.	"Hit My Line"	Hall Arjun Ivatury Alan Hawkshaw	6ix	4:25
3.	"GP4"	Hall Ivatury Rui Wen Pan Adam Feeney Ernest Wilson André Benjamin Antwan Patton Carlton Ridenhour Gary Rinaldo Hank Shocklee	6ix No I.D.	4:34
4.	"Celebration"	Hall Anthony Manco, Jr. Wilson Jeffrey Smith Dana Middleton Thomas Bell Linda Epstein	Logic No I.D.	3:50
5.	"Open Mic\\Aquarius III"	Hall Raymond Angry Ivatury Christopher Justice Dawoyne Lawson George Clinton George Worrell Garry Shider	Logic 6ix Gravez 2forwOyNE	5:03
6.	"Soul Food II"	Hall Khalil Abdul-Rahman Steve Wyreman Ivatury Matthew Crabtree	Logic 6ix MTK	5:33
7.	"Perfect"	Hall Ivatury Michael Mule Isaac DeBoni Keanu Torres	6ix FnZ Keanu Beats	1:40
8.	"Man I Is"	Hall Benjamin Patton Marcus Edwards Lana Moorer Philip Clendeninn Patrick Brown	Logic 6ix	4:29
9.	"DadBod"	Hall Ivatury Kyle Metcalfe	6ix Post	4:54
10.	"5 Hooks"	Hall Chazwick Bundick Ivatury	Logic Toro y Moi 6ix	3:52
11.	"Dark Place"	Hall Ivatury Bundick Arkae Tuazon Dexter Wansel Clinton Worrell Shider	6ix Toro y Moi Kajo	3:15
12.	"A2Z"	Hall Little Bobby Wilson Maneesh Bidaye	No I.D. Bidaye	3:08
13.	"Heard Em Say"	Hall Denny Newman	Logic	3:36
14.	"Amen"	Hall Tyler Okonma Metcalfe O'Kelly Isley Jr. Ronald Isley Rudolph Isley	Logic 6ix Post	2:26
15.	"Obediently Yours"	Hall Wilson Welles	No I.D.	6:09
Total length:				59:48

Notes

• "Man I Is" is stylized in lowercase letters.
• "No Pressure (intro)" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and David Hayter
• "Hit My Line" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and Keenen Wayans
• "GP4" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse, No I.D., and Tramayne "TMan" Hudson
• "Celebration" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse, and uncredited vocals by Silas
• "Open Mic\\Aquarius III" features additional vocals by Damian Hudson
• "Soul Food II" features additional vocals by 6ix, Anna Elyse, Big Pep, Bobby Campbell, Brittney Noell Hall, Jordan "Bo" Harris, Josh Lippi, Kevin Randolph, Maui Marc, Rhetorik, Steve Wyreman, and The Homies
• "Perfect" features uncredited vocals by Juicy J[34] and additional vocals by Anna Elyse
• "Man I Is" features additional vocals by Anna Elyse and Lil' Keke
• "A2Z" features additional vocals from Anna Elyse, Little Bobby, Steve Blum, and Tramayne "TMan" Hudson
• "Amen" features additional vocals from Kevin Randolph and Steve Blum

Sample credits

• "No Pressure" contains a sample from The Hitch-Hiker,[14][15] written and performed by Orson Welles.
• "Hit My Line" contains a sample of "We Got Love", written by Alan Hawkshaw, and performed by Sunny; and uncredited elements of "Attention", written by Robert Hunt, and performed by Head West.
• "GP4" contains a sample from "Mood", written by Rui Wen Pan and Adam Feeney, and performed by VinnyxProd and Frank Dukes from Kingsway Music Library Presents - VinnyxProd Vol. 1; interpolations of "Elevators (Me & You)", written by André Benjamin and Antwan Patton, and performed by Outkast; and samples of "Shut 'Em Down", written by Carlton Ridenhour, Gary Rinaldo and Hank Shocklee, and performed by Public Enemy.
• "Celebration" contains a sample from "A World Without You", written by Jeffrey Smith, Dana Middleton, Thomas Bell and Linda Epstein, and performed by Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr; and uncredited samples of "One Man Band", written by Milton Brand, and performed by Monk Higgins.
• "Open Mic\\Aquarius III" contains a sample of "A Peace of Light", written by Ahmir Thompson and Raymond Angry, and performed by The Roots; and samples of "Do That Stuff", written by George Clinton, George Worrell and Garry Shider, and performed by Parliament. The latter sample can later be found on "Dark Place".
• "Soul Food II" contains samples of "Soul Food", written by Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, Khalil Abdul-Rahman, Alkebulan Williams and Arjun Ivatury, and performed by Logic; and samples of "Choose", written by Matthew Crabtree, and performed by MTK.
• "Perfect" contains elements of the video game Street Fighter II: The World Warrior.
• "Man I Is" contains a sample from "Dreamflower", written by Phillip Clendeninn, and performed by Tarika Blue; a sample of "Knockin' Doorz Down", written by Chad Butler, Marcus Edwards, Michael Shawn Robinson and Marvin Rucker, and performed by Pimp C; and a sample of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious", written by Benjamin, Patton, and Patrick Brown, and also performed by Outkast.
• "5 Hooks" contains samples of "Grown Up Calls", written by Chazwick Bundick, and performed by Toro y Moi.
• "Dark Place" contains samples of "Theme From the Planets", written and performed by Dexter Wansel; and a sample from Status of People, written and performed by Alan Watts.
• "Heard Em Say" contains samples of "Lies (Through the 80s)", written by Denny Newman, and performed by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
• "Amen" contains elements of "Running Out of Time", written and performed by Tyler, the Creator; and samples of "It's Your Thing", written by O'Kelly Isley Jr., Ronald Isley and Rudolph Isley, and performed by The Isley Brothers.
• "Obediently Yours" contains a sample from the July 28, 1946 episode of Orson Welles Commentaries,[14][15] also written and performed by Welles.

Charts

Chart performance for No Pressure

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[35]	14
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36]	34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37]	27
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[38]	4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[39]	31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40]	16
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[41]	26
French Albums (SNEP)[42]	158
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43]	82
Irish Albums (OCC)[44]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45]	9
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[46]	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[47]	28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[48]	24
UK Albums (OCC)[49]	11
US Billboard 200[50]	2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[51]	1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[52]	1

References

1. Grant, Shawn. "LOGIC RELEASES HIS RETIREMENT ALBUM 'NO PRESSURE'". The Source. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
2. "Top 40 Rhythmic Crossover Radio Music News, Charts, Top Songs, Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
3. "Logic: Rapper announces retirement". BBC. July 17, 2020.
4. Armstrong, Sam (July 17, 2020). "Logic Announces His Retirement And New Album, 'No Pressure'". uDiscoverMusic.
5. France, Lisa (July 17, 2020). "Logic announces retirement with 'No Pressure' album". CNN.
6. "Logic Bids Goodbye to Hip-Hop With Final Studio Album 'No Pressure'". Hypebeast. July 17, 2020.
7. Logic [@Logic301] (July 16, 2020). "Officially announcing my retirement with the release of "No Pressure" executive produced by No I.D. July 24th... It's been a great decade. Now it's time to be a great father. Art by @SamSpratt" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. "Listen To Logic's Final Album 'No Pressure'". Vibe. July 24, 2020.
9. Logic (confirmed account) [@Logi301] (July 27, 2020). "Little bobby is actually credited as a writer on A2Z and has a percentage of the song. The money he makes from his publishing will go into an account I will surprise him with when he's of age Lol" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2020 – via Twitter.
10. Johnson, Joe (July 24, 2020). "Logic Breaks Down in Tears Saying His Farewell to Hip-Hop: Watch". XXL.
11. Moorwood, Victoria (July 24, 2020). "Logic tearfully thanks J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and more in retirement speech". Revolt TV.
12. Nelson, Daryl (July 24, 2020). "Logic Cries While Playing Final Album, Thanks Kendrick Lamar & Drake". Hip-Hop Lately.
13. Powell, Jon (July 28, 2020). "Logic drops new videos for "Aquarius III" and "DadBod"". Revolt. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
14. Kelly, Ray (July 21, 2020). "Logic samples classic radio shows with Orson Welles on 'No Pressure' album". MassLive.
15. "Logic samples Orson Welles radio shows on 'No Pressure' album". Wellesnet. July 21, 2020.
16. Adams, Robert (July 24, 2020). "New Logic album 'No Pressure' features David Hayter as Solid Snake". GameRevolution.
17. Moore, Logan. "Solid Snake Makes an Appearance on Logic's No Pressure Album". DualShockers.
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26. Hoffman, Tim (July 24, 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: Logic feels 'No Pressure' on masterful final release". RIFF Magazine.
27. Amorosi, A.D. (July 24, 2020). "Logic's 'No Pressure': Album Review". Variety.
28. Amorosi, A.D. (July 24, 2020). "Logic's 'No Pressure': Album Review". Yahoo! News.
29. Phillips, Yoh (July 24, 2020). "Read Our 1 Listen Review of Logic's 'No Pressure' Album". DJBooth.
30. Chesman, Donna-Claire (July 24, 2020). "With 'No Pressure,' Logic Finally Finds Balance". DJBooth.
31. Lotter, Judah Charles (July 24, 2020). "'No Pressure' Review: Logic takes a dig at 'modern-day rap' in powerful and infectiously catchy swansong album". Meaww.
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