Pi’erre Bourne has been one of the most exciting up-and-coming producers over the past year. Known for his weird and colourful beats, Bourne produced much of Playboi Carti’s hit 2018 album ‘Die Lit’, a project which put heavy emphasis on the energetic and creative beats. Now, Bourne has released his much anticipated solo work, ‘The Life of Pi’erre 4’, a stand-alone project which he has been working on for some time. The question is whether Bourne can standout without the vibrant personalities of frequent collaborators such as Playboi Carti and Lil Yachty and create a developed and listenable project.
‘The Life of Pi’erre 4’ is full of weird and wacky beats which consistently engages the listener. Indeed, the first track ‘Poof’ instantly grabs the listeners attention with a bass-heavy and energetic beat. The 16 track long project consistently innovates with exciting and varied beats, with this being the main strength of the project. Listening to TLOP4 is similar to playing a seemingly never-ending video game, with numerous beats on the project clearly inspired by retro video gaming. Indeed, similar to ‘Die Lit’, listening to the project is also like a sugar high, constantly exciting listeners with new sounds.
However, unlike Die Lit, TLOP4 fails to engage listeners vocally. Bourne’s vocals lack the stylistic depth of Carti’s, which made his beats so successful on ‘Die Lit’, with his vocals often being dull and uninspired. The majority of tracks lack a clear and distinct hook, failing to create a significant impression on the listeners. Drenched in autotune, Bourne barely demonstrates the ability to shift his vocals to demonstrate any sense of emotion, often ruining beats which would be better suited to Carti or Lil Uzi Vert’s more interesting, versatile vocal style.
Despite this lack of vocal interest, the project is still excellently produced, every song flows effortlessly into the next. This creates a rollercoaster ride of sounds which make up for Bourne’s lack of vocal interest. Indeed, there is something deeply satisfying about the transitions between tracks such as ‘Feds’ and ‘Be Mine’. Such transitions make the project seem like one long and winding song, constantly surprising the listeners with vibrant new sounds. The variety of sounds on tracks like ‘Be Mine’ are often breathtaking, constantly drawing the listeners attention.
The lack of features is particularly noticeable, with this hindering the project to some extent, with tracks occasionally becoming dull due to the repetitive nature of Bourne’s vocals. Although Bourne’s vocals are excellently mixed, they are often boring and lifeless. The amount of producer tags is also noticeable, with the amount of “yo, Pi’erre you wanna come out here” often being over the top.
TLOP4 makes up for its lack of interesting or innovative vocals with a fantastic collection of versatile and colourful beats, in a project which flows effortlessly, consistently grabbing the listeners attention. With ‘The Life of Pi’erre 5’, featuring star-studded features such as Playboi Carti and Lil Yachty, expected to drop sometime this year, Pi’erre Bourne is one of the most exciting producers in the industry, and you can expect to be hearing a lot more of him over the following years.
7.3/10
Written by Jacob Matthews
Masterpiece Music 