Like many other rappers of his time, Toosii first found fame during the SoundCloud era of the mid-2010s. He carved out a space for himself by adopting era-defining features into his music, like heavy beats and auto-tuned vocals, that brought attention to his 2017 debut. While his early work leaned heavily into this formula, every now and then a track would stand out with narrative abilities and melodic flows capable of cutting through all the filler. 

“JADED” marks Toosii’s 10th project and comes on the heels of “NAUJOUR,” which gave him two of the biggest hits of his career: “Favorite Song” and “Pull Up,” garnering over 200 million and 66 million streams, respectively. In an industry where fame can vanish as quickly as it arrives, “JADED” could be a means for the artist to capitalize on his recent rap success. But this time, his sound takes a hard pivot into R&B. While it is undoubtedly a bold move, it is one that leads to mixed results. 

“JADED” first feels promising in its experimentation, with the album’s kickoff track, “Meet Me Outside,” setting a grand tone for the songs to follow. The gentle pianos and strings transition into a quick-paced beat reminiscent of Metro Boomin’s “Creepin’,” leading into an emotional ballad that sets the album off on a high note. But when Toosii experiments with Afro-pop on “Fire and Desire,” he ends up with an uncatchy, overly repetitive chorus that sounds as though he struggles to catch his breath rather than something fresh: “She’s got fire and desire / She’s got fire and desire / She’s got fire and desire.” His use of auto-tune also does nothing to elevate the song, and it comes across as redundant and directionless.

The album’s featured performers similarly do not bring about any air of originality. Gunna’s feature on “Champs Élysées” feels like the same flow he has recycled since his feature on Travis Scott’s “ASTROWORLD.” Kehlani’s verse on “Ok… Whatever” sounds phoned in, doing nothing to push her vocal range — an odd choice, considering how well she showcased her skills on the semi-recent remix of Jordan Adetunji’s “KEHLANI.” 

“I Do,” featuring Muni Long, also dabbles with the off-beat swing of classic R&B, but it is clear that Toosii struggles when experimenting outside his trap comfort zone. The beat feels like unfamiliar territory, and his flow stumbles because of it. Regardless, Long manages to save the track with her stellar vocals. She drops endearing lines such as: “I will travel any distance, I will cross the sea / With you, it ain’t no other place I’d rather be / Got everything I want, got everything I need.” The way she embraces her space in the song turns what could have been a throwaway track into a memorable one.

Toosii’s experiment redeems itself, at times, through several songs that stick out because of their efforts to mix in other genres. “Sticks and Stones” is easily one of the best tracks on the album, an R&B-pop hybrid with haunting vocal chops that complement Toosii’s harsh vocal delivery. The track flows smoothly, following a 4/4 rhythm, and while some of the lyrics lean toward cliche, there is something charming about them. For example, the line “You left me right inside a warzone, and fortunes keep” is a clever and genuine video game reference hearkening to the notoriously rocky and challenging “Call Of Duty: Warzone” map. 

At its core, “JADED” is an R&B album where Toosii attempts to strip away any inconsequential tracks and focuses on his strengths: storytelling and melodies. The production is ear candy, with swirling guitars, low 808s, acoustic percussion and vocal chops. “Clock Work” is another standout, showcasing Toosii at his best through a smooth intro, catchy hooks and solid production. The track flows effortlessly into “New Corvette,” where Toosii’s sharp delivery over a basic guitar trap beat will keep listeners nodding along.

However, the album does present one elephant in the room: Toosii’s influences are painfully obvious, with Bryson Tiller and PartyNextDoor’s aesthetic and tropes taking shape in “JADED.” Toosii even name-drops Party on the chorus of “Party Girl Anthem.” While these influences are richly integrated, these artists have both released albums in the past year, only serving to draw unwanted comparisons to “JADED.” Toosii might have benefitted from looking back further into R&B’s rich history and searching for more crystalized musical inspiration to formulate a unique sound.

“JADED” serves up a few bangers, but the tracks feel like watered-down versions of what his predecessors have already done. Where Tiller’s tracks resonate because of their charisma and Party’s toxic persona takes his own work to unique levels, Toosi has not managed to find his voice in the R&B space fully –– which makes this project feel like a generic effort, as well as one that fails to deliver on originality. As the title suggests, it might just leave you feeling just as “JADED” as Toosii.

Contact Antonio Johri at [email protected].