Casey Veggies, Life Changes (7/10)

Casey Veggies, once Odd Future member. Although you would never have guessed it. Veggies spits in a more conventional style that’s alien to Earl or Tyler. That’s not to say Veggies is not as talented as the aforementioned. Where Veggies lacks in shock tactics or repulsive acts that gravitated fans to Odd Future, he instead chooses to excel at exploring familiar themes such as love and the pitfalls of fame on Life Changes, which is an outstanding piece of work, minus a few growing pains.

I was surprised to discover that Casey Veggies is still a teenager, nineteen to be exact. The tracks on this mixtape are more remnant of a man in his thirties looking for answers to life or the purpose and reasons for his experiences in life. Take the title track ‘’Life Changes’’ a beautifully sung intro and chorus by Phil Beaudreau, where the first two lines sung are: ‘I found love and I stopped loving, and I found god and I stopped looking for one’ epitomizes the message throughout this mixtape, soul searching. Yet Veggies shows that he’s still young and reckless, bragging that he’s still constantly ‘dougies on these hoes’.

In a world where it is becoming the norm for rappers to reveal their every vulnerability, Veggies too adopts this approach but keeps it fresh, through entertaining flows and great production. He enlists Harry Fraud, the French Montana and Currency contributor for ‘I Love Me Some You’. A polar opposite to anything on a Frenchy Mixtape, it blends in effortlessly with Veggies story of a rocky relationship. The chorus is purposely dreary, indicating the sinister notions to Veggies claims that ‘I love me some you’ it doesn’t seem like he means it, but is just saying so.

But that isn’t the case in ‘These Days’ the soft melodic sample, makes it a very pleasant and easy song to enjoy where his fragile state is exposed: ‘I never thought that one day I would look in your eyes and see everything that I, really need in my life.’ The same uncertainty in his voice in ‘I Love Me Some You’ is replaced by sincerity, albeit a scared type. The same thoughts are present in ‘Life Changes’ here it’s more revealing. The fact she knows everything about him and is still is there, puts him in the state that Andre 3000 wished a wise man had told him to stick with his love rather than pursuing ‘what the world has to offer’ here Veggies is going through the same thing thing with the same result.

Amongst these complicated cuts that reveals a complicated and introspective individual, is the other side, the nineteen year old looking to live fast and die young ‘life with no limitations can make you go hella crazy’. Although Veggies is not seeing the cash that hip hops heavyweights see, he has still amassed some wealth and that lyric sums up having money and being young which is the track ‘Faces’ a brash, arrogant and honest depiction of a young winners life. The flow is uber catchy and the beat is really laid back that it sounds like it should be on a Wiz or Currensy album. Dom Kennedy a frequent collaborator and mentor to Young Veggies appear in ‘She In My Car’ as the title suggests it’s a player’s anthem. Dom Kennedy brings the usual smooth flow that makes you believe he gets all the bitches he talks about. His verse and vocals just exude charm and confidence. This song however does sound lazy. The chorus is annoying and unoriginal, but the beat is very west coast and Dom’s Verse makes it listenable. Other tracks such as ‘The Team’ ‘Young Winners’ follow the same formula with a mediocre if under par result. ‘My Visions’ also covers the same themes but succeeds with the production; the sample and horn shine through along with the perfect use of his flow accompanied with his lyrics.

The closing track ‘Take My Life’ is a perfect denouncement. Not because we realize a unitary view of who Veggies is, but it compounds his complicated self. He doesn’t need anything even his life, he just wants to be comfortable while understanding that life changes and that’s alright.