Kodak Black Turns Lemons Into Lemonade On ‘Back For Everything’
Throughout my time as a fan of Hip-Hop, a multitude of artists have come and gone. I’ve watched artists rise to the top of the charts seemingly overnight, only to lose all their success within the same span. The music business is a volatile one, fluctuating hour by hour as artists continue to progress in their craft and their lives. Unsurprisingly, the music industry’s high level of volatility typically fosters an unforgiving cutthroat attitude that permeates from the CEOs of record labels down to the fans who demand their plates remain full. To put it simply: the music business is a “what are you doing for me right now” type of business and if artists have no answer to that question, they are quickly cast aside by the label and fickle fans who have become enamored by the next big thing.
The cutthroat attitude of the music business is something no artist can avoid. It doesn’t matter how many records an artist has sold or how many music connoisseurs declare an artist a legend, eventually, every artist will have to face the day that they aren’t the music industry’s hottest commodity as they once were.
Florida legend Kodak Black seemed to be on the trajectory towards becoming the latest victim of the music industry’s volatile cutthroat attitude. A member of the 2016 XXL Freshman class, Lil Kodak has made his mark on Hip-Hop with three projects that peaked at #3 or higher on the Billboard 200 charts and multiple tracks that peaked within the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, most of that success came within the two-year span between 2017 to 2019, and between troubles with the law, falling out with former friends, and overall disinterest, Kodak’s main appeal was all but music.
After being pardoned and released from incarceration in January 2021, Kodak put out two EPs within a month, Haitian Boy Kodak and Happy Birthday Kodak. Both projects failed to crack the top 10 on the Billboard 200 with the former peaking at #25 and the latter peaking at #180. Between the disappointing numbers and feelings of not being respected by his peers as his legend status commands it would be easy for Kodak to quit music. Kodak could’ve been the latest washed-up superstar trying to remind music fans about what he did years ago in a futile attempt to demand his respect. Instead, Kodak came back in 2022 to give us what may possibly be the best album in his discography.
For someone who claims “Life gave me lemons, but I ain't know how to make no lemonade,” Kodak surely made use of every lemon and created some of the best lemonade of the year. Appropriately named Back For Everything, Kodak Black’s latest album reminds fans why they fell in love with his music in the first place. The level of vulnerability Kodak showed throughout his smash hit single ‘Super Gremlin’ flows into the full tracklist for Back For Everything, making the latest release 2022’s biggest surprise thus far.
Kodak’s chart-topping smash hit ‘Super Gremlin’ is centered around his public fallout with his former Sniper Gang artist Jackboy. Throughout the track, Kodak talks about how disappointed he is that their relationship didn’t work out and how he now must treat the situation. This is best illustrated in the hook where Kodak raps, “Damn, my nigga, you trippin,' we could've been superstars, can't help it, now I'm reminiscing, remember when we was jackin' cars, now, you better keep your distance, ‘cause it's not safe for you.” Kodak’s ‘Super Gremlin’ is probably the song of the year thus far, and the vulnerability of describing the pain when people who you were close to becoming strangers is a relatable feeling that everyone can relate to.
‘Vulnerable (Free Cool)’ serves as track ten on Kodak Black’s appropriately named album Back For Everything. The name ‘Vulnerable (Free Cool)’ is on the nose because the track is vulnerability distilled with Kodak starting the track rapping, “I guess you wonder where I've been, I'm searchin' to find a love within’, how you gon' love me? I don't love myself.” These first three lines set the tone for the ultimately introspective track where Kodak also talks about his lifestyle of “killing (his) liver with the liquor and the perkys.” The climax of the track comes throughout the hook as Kodak raps “I miss my brother Cool, I'm out here by myself, it got me vulnerable, and I done been betrayed, don't even care to hide it, crossed me in my face.” Back For Everything’s track ten forwards with the concept of feeling alone and going through the ebbs and flows of relationships.
On the penultimate track on Back For Everything, ‘I Wish’ Kodak Black once again shows vulnerability by reflecting on some of his life choices and regrets. This is best illustrated throughout the hook when Kodak raps, “I wish I could stop thuggin' for real, leave the streets without me bein' killed…I wish I could stop blowin' my banger, I wish I could catch hold of my anger.” Here Kodak talks about the errors of his ways while also acknowledging that being able to put his past behind him is easier said than done.
Kodak Black’s Back For Everything is a great example of what happens when artists talk about their life choices and circumstances with honesty and vulnerability. The latest album from the Florida legend also stands as an example of the gems that can be made with persistence throughout hard times. Back For Everything is a shining example of Kodak turning his lemons into lemonade to create what may be the best project in his discography.
