Album cover for Young Sinatra IV.
Young Sinatra IV is a Studio Album by Maryland rapper Logic, released on September 28th, 2018. It was his fourth Studio Album and a return to the “Boom Bap Trap” sound that originally made him popular in the first place. Logic is a Biracial conscious rapper who, on many occasions, has used his platform to address his own struggle with race and his identity. Although he does take a back step in this album from deep world issues to talk about fun and youth, the concept is still to spread his favorite message: peace, love, and positivity.
The cover art, a mugshot of Logic in black and white, is a replica and an homage to both Frank Sinatra’s mugshot, and his own earlier mixtapes. Logic has been heavily influenced by people like Frank Sinatra and Quentin Tarantino throughout the years, so much so that he has named some of his projects after them. Although he remains grounded in the same realm, Logic has a different concept for every one of his different album series. The young Sinatra albums are usually more rooted in Boombap culture, while the “Bobby Tarantino” series is a trap music experience for people who just want to plug in and have fun. The rest of his albums are pretty conceptual and are filled with conscious content.
With his return on this album, Logic immediately made a huge print in the hip-hop culture, bringing together all remaining members of the Wu-Tang clan on one song named “Wu-Tang Forever,” making a stereotypical Wu-Tang sound fit flawlessly in a Logic album. He also has songs like “The Glorious Five” where he tells a touching story over the beat, talking about how his father never having his back affected him as a young man and how he wishes he had understood his parents struggles earlier on in life. Then there are songs like “100 miles and running,” which features Wale. If you want to know what Logic truly sounds like, not just from a suicide hotline song, then listen to this one. This song is the prototypical Logic sound at its best, mixing deep lyrical content with a very fun, fast-paced, killer sharp flow. Proving yet again, for anyone who may have forgotten, why Logic is undoubtedly still among of the best of the top tier lyricists in the world.
With that said YS IV turns out to be Logic’s most iconic and boldest album yet. He finds a clear sound of his own while collaborating with a plethora of talented features. The album shines as one of his finest works while standing aside from any of his conscious music. It’s just a fun album but it’s not trap, it’s “Boom Bap.”
