What Happens When an ICON Falls in Love?
ICON by Brent Faiyaz Album Review
Brent Faiyaz released his third studio album ICON, earning himself his second top 10 placement on the Billboard top 200, selling 58,000 in the first week. This gave him the number one spot on the Billboard top R&B Charts.
This project has shown a different side of Brent, centering most of the tracks around love rather than the toxic lifestyle he’s been promoting in previous projects. The growth in mindset can be displayed through the vulnerability that he projects when discussing the way that he feels about the woman that he’s in love with.
With iconography like having all the title tracks in lowercase lettering and cover art that shows Brent in a stressed position, the tone of this album has shifted greatly from what he’s released before.
In his previous two projects he released, Wasteland and Larger than Life, Brent has given a perspective focused on a fast lifestyle that’s given him the attention of many women but he didn’t have the capacity to love them. There was an egotistical bravado that was consistent within the themes of these track lists. He possessed a level of detachment that brought out anxiety in these women that wanted to lock him down into a relationship.
The contrast can be shown by comparing two tracks, “Rolling Stone,” from Wasteland and “Butterflies” on ICON. In Rolling Stone, Brent refers to himself as a, “rolling stone,” claiming that the lifestyle he lives is far too fast paced and chaotic to remain in a committed relationship.
This dynamic is then flipped on its head in the new track “Butterflies” when Brent says, “maybe it’s a little bit rushed, but I’m falling in love. Hope that’s not too much but this isn’t a crush,” becoming the partner that has a far more anxious attachment to his lover . Brent has the same fast pace but rather than spreading himself thin with many women, he’s falling deeply for one woman and can’t bear the feeling of not knowing if his love is reciprocated.
In the hook of the song, Brent consistently questions her, saying, “How do you feel? Is it anything like I feel,” while also having doubt in his behavior asking, “or should I chill?” This change in tone contradicts his previous claims from other tracks, presenting new emotions through the relationship. His current feelings are exemplary of the ways that previous women have treated him and he contains a lot less power than before, groveling and yearning rather than remaining disconnected from the women that he’s involved with.
Track Sequencing
The sequencing on this track list tells a story of a man that’s going through all of the stages of love, experiencing the elated highs of strong chemistry and passion, to the lows of doubt and wonder, giving each track a title that encapsulates the present state of the relationship.
White Noise is a tone setter for the album that doesn’t contain any lyrics but has atmospheric violins playing throughout and
My favorite track on the project, wrong faces, explores the conflict within a relationship where one of the partners is looking for love within people who aren’t reciprocating that same feeling. Brent reiterates a common sentiment throughout the song of telling that the love that his partner is looking for in the “wrong places and spaces,” he is able to provide if she were to just “stay at home,” and “hear him out.”
Have to, manages to describe loneliness and the desire to be close to someone. Going the extra length to get close to someone that you desire. Lines such as, “I’m in a race with time to get where that I belong, ‘cause it feels so right after all of these nights alone,” and, “I’ll pack and ship myself, if I have to,” exemplify the longing that Brent feels.
Butterflies, as explained before, reflects the feeling of wanting someone but not knowing if that person also wants him back. It fits perfectly with the current stage of his emotions, showing the growing adoration that he has for his love interest.
The tone of the album continues to rise. This upbeat love song reflects the love that he feels growing to a peak, explaining that his interest, “must be from the other side.” He reiterates his desire for his love to be reciprocated, a common wish that he repeats throughout the tracklist.
The album has a strong change of tone. There’s a melancholic sound created by the slow and dark guitar, signifying the downfall of the relationship. Brent believes that he has failed at being a man due to losing her. He gave more in the relationship than she did and his vulnerability was used against him. Brent explains that she “should’ve changed (her) last name but it all came crashing down.” The transition from idealization to disappointment was such a stark change that it led to him developing a strong sense of self-doubt wondering if it all fell about because of something he did. Everything he believed before has changed, taking them back to strangers.
To gain back the love that was lost before, Brent hangs his hat on being a useful, passionate, and a caring lover. He’s trustworthy and needs to feel like the love he gives is valuable enough to win her back. He’s right back to putting his muse on a pedestal and giving all of himself once again but it seems that he’s fighting to get her back due to his own downfalls that led to the failure of the relationship by telling her that, “the world is yours.”
The ebbs and flows of the relationship are bringing him on an emotional roller coaster that’s similar to the change of the four seasons. He’s willing to be there forever but he feels betrayed by her actions of infidelity even though his imperfections were the cause of it. He has a hypocritical view because he feels that since he provided monetary value in the, “new whips and new watches,” and a certain lifestyle that she’s required to have loyalty no matter if he’s stepped out of the relationship himself. The highs and lows really affect him and it keeps them attached to each other no matter how much pain it brings. But no matter her mood, he’s going to be there 365 days.
Brent has continued to idealize the woman that he loves and wants to hold on to that dream. Prioritizing the image and beauty to feel comfortable, explaining that the feelings that he possesses with her has to be pure fantasy. He’s relying on the dreams of each other and the passion they have for each other, with the sex and volatility being the basis of the emotions that they share.
Vanilla Sky is a reflection on what makes someone happy. Throughout the track, Brent repeatedly asks, “what is happiness to you,” continuing to wonder if the relationship that he is in is a safe place. He then continues to elaborate saying that happiness looks different for everyone and it’s important for you to find the person that shares the same dreams. Whatever is for you will find you and whatever isn’t will remove itself. There’s a requirement to look within and question if the place that you’re in is true happiness, with questions like, “does (happiness) drive you,” and “is it something to gain or does it cost you.” Questions like these force someone to see if there’s an actual purpose and alignment with the relationships they partake in or if they’re just going through the motions.
Rating
Brent really impressed me with his growth in mindset and storytelling with this project. Having a new perspective with experiencing the vulnerabilities of love and accurately describing the ups and downs of a relationship makes me believe that his experience is authentic. The tracklist follows a strong narrative that many people could learn from and resonate with. This is amongst the best of his projects and I would give it a 9.5/10, placing it on the same tier as Fuck the World and Sonder Son, which I rated 9.6 and 9.4 respectively.
