Ultra 85

By this point in Logic’s career, fans know better than to accept any more “final” album declarations. Still, they’d be justified in having mixed emotions over the auspicious arrival of <i>Ultra 85</i>, an epic project some seven years in the making, and one that he’d previously insinuated would be his last as a rapper. Either way, this veritable hip-hop space opera returns to the intergalactic interplay of 2015’s <i>The Incredible True Story</i> with skits and narrative segues pushing the entertaining story of Kai and Thomas along.

While his devotees will exhaustively pore over the fresh lore, lyrical rap listeners don’t need to get bogged down in background to appreciate what the preternaturally gifted MC does on the mic for “Ghost in the Machine” and the Gucci Mane-nodding “Mission Control.” A continuation of his interior explorations, “Innerstellar” wrestles with concerns existential and emotional, with hope-filled encouragement and mindfulness over a jazzy beat by 6ix, his longtime production cohort. His earnestness remains core to his charm, proving as sincere and genuine as he is simply dope on “Peace Love & Positivity” and the West Coast-inflected “Teleport.”

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