Album Review: Pi'erre Bourne - The Life of Pi'erre 5

Earlier this year, producer-rapper Pi'erre Bourne released the fifth installment of his 'The Life of Pi'erre' mixtape series. Best known for his contributions to the rise of Playboi Carti, as well as producing records like 'Pain 1993', 'On God' and 'Yessirskiii', Pi'erre is one of rap musics most consistent producers. 

Last year when I heard he was rapping on his own albums, I was intrigued and listened to his 2019 release, 'The Life of Pi'erre 4'. The album was OK, but there were only 2 standout tracks for me. Originally, when 'The Life of Pi'erre 5' released this year it was same since again, since 'Switching Lanes' and 'Biology 101' were the only stand-out songs. However, with Pi'erre announcing a European tour and Drake posting 'Couch', a song from TLOP5, on his Instagram story, I went back to it and started appreciating each song a lot more.

What makes TLOP5 standout from other albums is the seamless transitions between every song, making the project sound more like an hour mix. These transitions make you appreciate Pi'erre's prowess to produce and mix tracks. For example, the transition from 'YNS', a peaceful track, to the assertive 'Sossboy 2' is a mastery in production as Pi'erre achieves a tempo increase and atmosphere change in one transition. Similarly, in the transition between 'Practice' and '40 Clip', the atmosphere changes from bright to villainous.

A critique of the album is the lack of lyrical content, however, with albums like TLOP5 you aren't listening for lyrics and instead, are listening to get lost in the beats. Additionally, Pi'erre's energy compliments each beat well without taking attention away from each wavy instrumental.

TLOP5's consistency, transitions and tracks like 'Biology 101', '40 Clip' and 'Practice' makes this project one of my favourite albums of the year. It's one of my most listened to albums this year, so much so that I got tickets to Pi'erre's Glasgow show this Sunday, I look forward to experiencing this album live.