F**k the World

Editors’ Notes F**k the World is a curious title for a half-hour-long project that not only features a voice so inviting that it sounds like it was meant to sell dreams, but also revels in earthly pleasures like expensive clothing, casual sex, and the luxury of unencumbered travel. But it’s likely just the phrase that happened to be on Brent Faiyaz’s mind the day he decided to name it; at least, that’s how the verses on F**k the World come off. Across the project, the 24-year-old Maryland native seems beholden only to a sort of Socratic whimsy, with songs like the title track and “Clouded” playing out like audits of his personal life, while “Skyline” and “Let Me Know” allow him to question the world at large. Then there is the after-party-perfect “Lost Kids Get Money,” which sounds in the very best way like a freestyle off the top of the dome. His voice—accompanied in most instances by very minimal production—sounds particularly naked here, and as such hard to reconcile with the nihilistic title.