Bakar's 'Will You Be My Yellow?' Displays Refreshing Artistry & Vast Potential
About a month after the release of the groovy "Hell N Back," London's newest visionary, Bakar, has released his Will You Be My Yellow? EP. This EP follows a very exciting year for the young man, as he has started to collaborate with artists from all over the globe, do high-profile press runs, and became a face for the Louis Vuitton SS19 campaign.
Amidst all the hustle, Bakar has created a new EP does not let down. Listing features from Beach Noise, Matty from BadBadNotGood, and rising star Dominic Fike, Bakar assembled a versatile team to match his genre-bending sound.
The EP's title sets the tone for the album, as the theme of being yellow carries on throughout. The nature of yellow represents a sense of warmth and comfort, as the EP is entirely about relationships – both thriving and failing.
Each track is vastly unique and is characterized by the opening track, "Yllw," which is a minute of spoken word over an ambient guitar, allowing Bakar to set his artistic goals. This approach is commendable, as he is able to communicate what yellow means to him and how this plays into the album. Bakar wondrously describes various yellow images ranging from a "yellow heart" to a "yellow sky bathed in light." Establishing this theme and sticking with it throughout the EP displays his commitment to being an artist in all facets of the name.
Moving into the album, the highlights include the lead single, "Hell N Back," as well as the fourth track, "Stop Selling Her Drugs" featuring Dominic Fike. "Hell N Back" maintains all the beauty it did upon its initial release, as it is not only smooth and groovy but fits perfectly into the theme of the album. Bakar describes the turmoil of a struggling relationship but ultimately the reward that comes with overcoming it. Perfectly fitting into the theme of the album, Bakar questions, "Will you be my light, be my yellow?" This question alone shows the yearning for a person to step into the role of providing light to Bakar's life.
On "Stop Selling Her Drugs," Bakar delivers once again, but Dominic Fike is also able to take over and shine for a verse. Besides finding creative ways to describe cocaine, there is a flurry of gorgeous lines on this track, and Bakar sings a catchy and smooth chorus for the ages. The ending of the pre-chorus repeats, "You were meant to have my youth," a lovely way of capturing an indescribable moment in time. Fike's wordplay and vocals on this track are impressive as he describes a New York apartment, "You can buzz me up and wear me out like a button-down." His easy delivery and ad-libs are butter to the ears, creating a perfect balance with Bakar's more powerful and distinctive vocals.
As the EP comes to a close with the track "Cashmere Tears," the listener is gifted with gorgeous ambient sounds mixed with reverbed lyrics, creating a concert hall feeling. Bakar's voice echoes, "We're allowed to fall in love, We're allowed to fall apart," tying together the album as a whole. He captures the nature of finding a constant yellow in one's life or dealing with the loss of it, through the medium of angelic ambient noise.
In its entirety, Will You Be My Yellow? is a must-listen. With cosigns from Elton John, Virgil Abloh, and others, Bakar continued to exceed expectations. Never afraid to experiment or put together a catchy chorus, Bakar will continue to grow and leave his mark in the world of music.
