Robert Glasper – Fuck Yo Feelings (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Throwing open his studio doors, the pianist aims for a loose, mixtape-like vibe, but the stacked guest list yields a scattershot party that only ends up overstaying its own welcome. In the mini-documentary that accompanies Robert Glasper’s Fuck Yo Feelings, the Grammy-winning pianist and composer explains, “I want this whole thing to be mixtape vibe, so when we put it together it’s like a beat here, might be a song here, then we fuck around talking here.” To achieve this sort of free-form setup, Glasper welcomed a guest list of MCs, singers, and musicians—including Yasiin Bey, Herbie Hancock, YBN Cordae, Denzel Curry, and Audra Day—to pass through a studio in New York City and jam. The goal was to allow the artists to form organic bonds and strike up creative collaborations on the fly. But despite the accomplished cast, there’s little spark about the fruits of those sessions: Fuck Yo Feelings is a 71-minute melange of tepid sonic backdrops that lacks the vital momentum and progression inherent in any effective mixtape.

This is not the first time he has planted dynamite on stylistic borders. In fact, Robert Glasper seems to have made it his raison d’être. Spending his time ripping off the “jazz pianist” label that has been stuck on his back, the American has paved the way for a whole generation of musicians seeking to inject jazz into soul, rap and any other genre for that matter. There is nothing prefabricated about this approach, something that becomes evident on Fuck Yo Feelings which feels more like a mixtape than a real album. It is the fruit of a few hours spent at Hollywood’s Henson Studios with a group of cherry-picked friends, who set off with no roadmap or instruction manual. The result is an improvised stream of music lasting over 70 minutes, spread across 19 tracks and featuring a rather mind-blowing line up including Yassin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def), Bilal, Denzel Curry, Rapsody, Mick Jenkins, Terrace Martin, SiR, not forgetting the incredible Herbie Hancock, Glasper’s nearly-80-year-old idol and a true pioneer of genre fusion. Listening to Fuck Yo Feelings is like being a fly on the wall to this informal jam session; one that brings together exciting, inspired moments with more off-the-cuff and almost unfinished-seeming melodies. Given his huge talent, it is no surprise that Robert Glasper’s arrangements of these hours of jazz, soul and hip-hop recordings make for a totally exhilarating experience. – Marc Zisman

Tracklist:
01. Robert Glasper – Intro (04:46)
02. Robert Glasper – This Changes Everything (04:16)
03. Robert Glasper – Gone (03:44)
04. Robert Glasper – Let Me In (04:39)
05. Robert Glasper – In Case You Forgot (01:41)
06. Robert Glasper – Indulging In Such (04:03)
07. Robert Glasper – Fuck Yo Feelings (02:30)
08. Robert Glasper – Endangered Black Woman (03:45)
09. Robert Glasper – Expectations (04:54)
10. Robert Glasper – All I Do (06:53)
11. Robert Glasper – Aah Whoa (02:54)
12. Robert Glasper – I Want You (02:47)
13. Robert Glasper – Trade In Bars Yo (01:42)
14. Robert Glasper – DAF Fall Out (02:01)
15. Robert Glasper – Sunshine (01:52)
16. Robert Glasper – Liquid Swords (04:37)
17. Robert Glasper – DAF FTF (04:32)
18. Robert Glasper – Treal (07:27)
19. Robert Glasper – Cold (02:00)