| Larger than Life | |
| Type: | mixtape |
| Artist: | Brent Faiyaz |
| Cover: | Brent Faiyaz - Larger Than Life.jpeg |
| Length: | 36:23 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Too Late to Die Young |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
Larger than Life is American R&B singer Brent Faiyaz's debut mixtape. It was released independently through Faiyaz's label ISO Supremacy and distributed through UnitedMasters on October 27, 2023, as a surprise release.[1] [2] The album features guest appearances from ASAP Ant, ASAP Rocky, Babyface Ray, Coco Jones, Cruddy Murda, Felix!, Flee, Lil Gray, Missy Elliott, N3WYRKLA, Princess Cro, Tommy Richman, and TTM Dawg.[3] [4] [5] The majority of the album was produced by Dpat alongside Mannyvelli and Sparkheem who also produced several tracks on the project.[6] [7]
Larger than Life received generally positive reviews from critics who highlighted Faiyaz's vocals and the album's "sleek" production. It debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, in which it earned 42,000 album-equivalent units, of which 1,000 were pure album sales.[8] Eight of the album's fourteen tracks charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[8] The mixtape was preceded by two singles: the Coco Jones-assisted "Moment of Your Life" and "WY@".
Upon the release of the mixtape, Faiyaz appeared in an interview with Rolling Stone in which he spoke about how astrology plays a part in the creation of his music as he's always surrounded by women who he states are "the number one conversation" he has with them. When asked about the mixtape's thirteenth cut, "WY@", Faiyaz stated that the "record reflects having access and opportunity, and having to say no to certain shit — or the inability to say no to certain shit" and it's "about addiction in a way, shape, or form, but more from the perspective of submitting to it versus fighting against it".[9] In November 2023, Faiyaz appeared in another interview with Swizz Beatz on behalf of Wonderland.[10] In the interview, Swizz asked about the inspiration behind the project's title, to which Faiyaz responded that: "I'm kind of in a place where I feel like I can do whatever the fuck I wanna do. I feel like I'm one of the best at what I do. That's how I feel with Larger than Life".[10] A standout point of the mixtape was the abundance of features it debuted with. When asked about what made Faiyaz comfortable enough to pull all the artists together, he went into depth about the process:[10]
In the same month, Sonder member and one of the mixtape's primary producers, Dpat appeared in an interview with Billboard in which he revealed that he and Faiyaz began to work on the project in December 2022 after landing in Tulum, Quintana Roo. He stated that the majority of the songs on the mixtape were "made [during] that one week at lock-in with a couple made throughout the year" and that Faiyaz was "writing one, two songs every day". He expanded on how he and Faiyaz originally met, while also covering Timbaland's involvement on the record and the recording and production process of the mixtape:[11]
On May 2, 2023, Billboard reported that Brent Faiyaz signed a new distributed deal with UnitedMasters, rumored to be valued at up to $50 million.[12] UnitedMasters CEO, Steve Stoute, spoke on the addition of Faiyaz to the company: "Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific independent artists today, and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It's been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years, and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions".
On August 16, 2023, Billboard reported the start-up of Faiyaz's new record label and creative company, ISO Supremacy, distributed by UnitedMasters ahead of a new project.[13] On August 23, 2023, Faiyaz released the album's lead single, "Moment of Your Life" featuring Coco Jones.[14] Just a month later, on September 19, 2023, Faiyaz released the album’s second single, "WY@".[15] [16]
Just hours before the release of the album, on October 26, 2023, Faiyaz shared the official album trailer on his YouTube channel and social media pages to announce the album to his fans.[17] [18] On December 8, 2023, Brent released the Lone Wolf-directed music video for "Upset", featuring Tommy Richman and FELIX.[19] On December 15, 2023, Brent released a "Chopped Not Slopped" remix of the album with ISO Supremacy and DJ Candlestick.[20] On January 16, 2024, Brent released the OffBucksFilms-directed official music video for "Pistachios".[21] On February 14, 2024, Brent released the music video for "WY@", starring Mexican-Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyong'o.[22] [23] The video was purposely set to be released on Valentine's Day due to the song's lyrical topics.[24]
Larger Than Life received generally favorable reviews from critics. AllMusics TiVo Staff stated that the project allows Brent to stay "in a loop of nostalgia for much of his first mixtape". He wrote that "Faiyaz channels late-'90s radio R&B production on the staggered percussion beats" and that the production is similar to The Neptunes'. He concluded his review as he wrote that "Larger Than Life is light fun for the most part, and the retro styles are counterbalanced by blunt-edged rap features". Writing for Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre wrote that the album is "a life-is-good album where Faiyaz could easily have chosen to pop champagne to his success by bringing all of today's most powerful rap and R&B artists into the fold", however, "he pays homage to his home by getting both regional pioneers and up-and-comers involved in his mess". Pierre notes that "Faiyaz sings about stories that would be the highlight of most people’s year like it’s just another day".
| List | Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List | |||
| Complex | The 50 Best Albums Of 2023 | |||
| Stereogum | The 50 Best Albums Of 2023 | |||
| Jem Aswad for Variety | The Best Albums of 2023 | |||
| Steven J. Horowitz for Variety | The Best Albums of 2023 | |||
| Vibe | The 20 Best R&B Albums Of 2023 |
Larger than Life debuted at number eleven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 42,000 album-equivalent units (including 1,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[8] This became Brent Faiyaz's third US top-twenty debut on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 54.1 million on-demand official streams from the set's tracks.
Sample credits
| Peak position | ||
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] | 21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[26] | 32 | |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] | 7 | |
| US Billboard 200[28] | 11 | |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] | 4 |
| Date | Label(s) | Format(s) | Edition(s) | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | October 27, 2023 | Standard | |||
| United States | CD | [30] | |||
| Various | December 15, 2023 | Chopped Not Slopped | |||
| United States | September 19, 2024 | LP | Standard | [31] |