The Incredible True Story

The Incredible True Story
Studio album by Logic
Released November 13, 2015
Recorded 2014–15
Genre
Length 61:52
Label
Producer
Logic chronology
Under Pressure
(2014)		 The Incredible True Story
(2015)		 Bobby Tarantino
(2016)
Singles from The Incredible True Story
  1. "Young Jesus"
    Released: September 22, 2015
  2. "Like Woah"
    Released: October 14, 2015
  3. "Fade Away"
    Released: November 5, 2015

The Incredible True Story is the second studio album by American hip hop recording artist Logic. It was released on November 13, 2015, by Visionary Music Group, distributed by Def Jam Recordings.[1] Recording sessions took place upon completion and release of Under Pressure, in late 2014 to early 2015. The album saw extensive production by Logic along with a variety of contributors, including 6ix, Stefan Ponce, Sir Dylan, Syk Sense, OZ and DJ Dahi. The album also saw limited appearances from guest vocalists, with only Big Lenbo, Lucy Rose, Dria and Jesse Boykins III being credited with guest appearances. Its release was preceded by the promotional singles "Young Jesus", "Like Woah" and "Fade Away". Each song was released to coincide with a three-week delay.[2][3]

The Incredible True Story has been characterized as an experimental musical work, with particular attention drawn to the running storyline detailed within the album.[4] It incorporates elements inspired by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, including its non-linear storytelling, the satirical subject matter discussed between the characters, and its introduction of 20th century score pieces typically seen deployed by Tarantino.[5] Logic translated the storyline sonically by introducing scenes within the album, as well as offcuts within songs to help establish plot and context. Initial promotion of The Incredible True Story included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances, as well as The Incredible World Tour.[6]

The Incredible True Story received generally positive critical reception from critics, who commended Logic's increased involvement in the album's production and its direct nature and unique direction. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and sold 135,000 album-equivalent units and 118,000 copies in its first week.

Background

Plot

By 2023, Japan and the United States merge to create a super-nation to combat famine, depleted resources and the increasing extinction in animals caused by the amplification of pollution. As the leaders in world science, the conjoined nation are able to create genetically engineered meat that is enhanced and grown in an unconscious state, which is then slaughtered for consumption. They decide that the quickest way to distribute the food to a worldwide scale is through China, as China interlinks with other first world countries in Europe and Australia. China then use their newly found power to their advantage, often overpricing the conjoined nation for its distribution route through the country. This prompts the conjoined nation to contact Russia, who have displaced democracy in favor of a royal family. The conjoined nation enters into a working agreement with Russia to assassinate the President of China, in exchange for Russian occupation of Alaska, which the conjoined nation reluctantly agrees to. Soon after, the President of China is assassinated, and is replaced by the country's vice president.[7]

Following the successful assassination, a secret treaty is to be agreed upon between the conjoined nation and Russia, to formally hand over Alaska. As soon as the Russian King arrives, however, he dies due to cardiac arrest at 59, which calls off the treaty. The Prince of Russia hears of the news and immediately suspects the conjoined nation, declaring war by firing nuclear missiles to land inhabited by the conjoined nation. As a result of the nuclear attack, the world's oceans become poisoned, forcing the remaining first world countries to move to and operate within free land in Central America, alongside the Great Lakes. Dubbing the new city "Babel", they worked to purify the Earth's oceans, hoping to eradicate the issues that had arose from the nuclear attacks.[7]

A chemical is soon created, which adequately purifies the water to make it fit for human consumption on a wide scale. Following the creation of this chemical, billions of people begin to die, leaving scientists dumbfounded at the situation. Babel soon decreases from billions in population, to millions. It is later revealed that the genetically engineered meat previously created by the conjoined nation, reacted to form an inharmonious solution with the purified water. As the remainder of Babel worked out the rate at which humans are dying, the decision is made for the rest of the city's population to dissipate from Earth. The residents work to create the Babel Space Station, which holds the 5 million remaining inhabitants, and left Earth in search of a similar planet.[7]

The album follows Quentin Thomas, William Kai, and Thalia, who are listening to "The Incredible True Story" on their way to Paradise. They use the album as a backing track to the queries they have on life, often contemplating the point of finding Paradise, and what it will hold should they arrive. During the journey, they enter into the vicinity of another ship, an out of the norm situation due to the Aquarius III being one of the only remaining ships in current space travel. Thomas soon instructs Thalia to hack the system, before she stumbles upon a damaged audio distress signal located in its interface. Upon opening the signal, it details Christopher Smith, a pilot from Aquarius I, in his final hours, warning future travelers to suspend their journey, and to return to where it was they came. Despite initially being shaken by the message, Thomas instructs that Aquarius III should continue. Following further travel, they arrive at a planet with similar conditions to what they were searching for, and leave the ship. The album concludes with the trio successfully landing to what is now known as Paradise.[7]

Cast

The captain and pilot of the Aquarius III.
The first man in charge of infantry on the Aquarius III, and Thomas' partner. He was named after the AKAI MPC 2000 XL musical instrument.
The name given to a computer program that operates the Aquarius III.
The deceased captain and pilot of the Aquarius I.
He appears in a cameo appearance, as a demonstration of Thalia's ability to become unisex.
He also appears in a cameo appearance, as a demonstration of Thalia's ability for the user to have a conversation with anyone in recorded history.

Composition and promotion

Music

Logic was involved with a considerable amount of the production on The Incredible True Story, a move acclaimed by contemporary music critics.

The Incredible True Story was noted for its "improvement in production" and its emphasis to be "aesthetically pleasing [in terms of the music]" in distinction to Logic's previous works.[8] Martín Caballero of The Boston Globe calls the album a success due to the way it was able to portray itself as "polished and appealing" material, in comparison to the "overeager and overproduced nature" prevalent in his previous releases.[9] The album also represents a significant tonal shift, with Logic exploring duality across the album, introducing a back-and-forth of lighter and darker tracks. Insanul Ahmed of Complex outlined the album's sound calling the music "some of the happiest [Logic's] ever made, but there are dark undertones to songs like "Fade Away" and "City of Stars", which [mesh] together to create something special."[10]

The album's production and lyrics also draws some multiple comparisons to various songs within hip-hop, which can be seen on "City of Stars" and "Paradise". The former has been described as appearing extremely similar to Kanye West's "Flashing Lights", borrowing the emphasized drums inertly prevalent in West's release eight years prior. "Paradise" was deliberately crafted to resemble the sound displayed by hip hop duo, Outkast. "Paradise" openly references "SpottieOttieDopaliscious", a single from Outkast's 1998 release Aquemini. Logic had also wanted to reunite Outkast by featuring both André 3000 and Big Boi on the track, who began working as solo artists following the dissolution of Outkast. The duo were unable to participate to the song, deciding against the reunification of the group.[8]

Promotion

Logic first announced the album on September 8, 2015, with a promotional video that said that the project would be released during fall of 2015. The video detailed Logic wearing his trademark NASA MA-1 bomber jacket, whilst being positioned inside a large spacecraft. He then proceeds to sample a loop which repeats, "I Am the Greatest", by Cassius Clay on an AKAI MPC 2000 XL music controller.[11] Logic would soon tweet a promotional hashtag for social media usage, showcasing "its key contribution" towards the album. The hashtag were announced as TITSATOTMWSTW and was later shortened to simply TITS. The longer hashtag was in reference to the album's subtitle of "...And Transformation of the Man Who Saved The World". On October 23, 2015, the album and its tracklist was revealed on the iTunes pre-order page, showcasing an eighteen track long album, clocking in at over an hour. This showcased a slight increase in length compared to his previous album, which only boasted thirteen tracks and clocked in at under an hour.

Logic soon embarked on The Incredible World Tour in promotion of the album, travelling to various cities through the United States, as well to Europe and Canada.[12] He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon alongside FaZe Banks, performing "Fade Away" to the show's studio audience.[13]

Reception

Critical reviews

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Exclaim!7/10[16]
HipHopDX3.5/5[17]
Pitchfork6.1/10[18]
RapReviews.com8/10[19]

The Incredible True Story received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 7 reviews.[14] David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "This is the album where it all changed, as the one they call Young Sinatra comes into his own and proves his nearly perfect debut was no isolated fluke."[15] Martín Caballero of The Boston Globe said, "With the creative confidence to go with his considerable skills and heart, Logic crafts some polished and appealing material.... Overall, a step up for the sophomore."[9] Julian Kimble of Pitchfork said "The Incredible True Story is a pleasant voyage to Paradise orchestrated by an artist who's earned the approval of legends from Rick Rubin to Big Daddy Kane. Logic has the tools to create music that has longevity, but has yet to unlock the characteristics that truly set him apart. If he's able to tap into that, his subsequent releases will have the impact he aspires for."[18] Erin Lowers of Exclaim! wrote that "The Incredible True Story is Logic's best work yet, but there's still work to be done bridging the gulf between his ambition and his ability."[16] Kellan Miller of HipHopDX stated "With every remarkable release, one can only hope that Logic will continue in this vein and not float too far into the stratosphere."[17] Clara Wang of RapReviews.com said, "There's enough variation in energy and production to keep the listener engaged throughout, and several times there are sudden drops into another beat entirely in the middle of a song."[19]

Commercial performance

Within the next marked chart date for Billboard, The Incredible True Story opened at number 3 on the Billboard 200, selling 118,000 copies and 135,000 equivalent album units in the United States in its first week. The album was able to reach past the 100,000 sales projections, and marked Logic's highest opening week sales as an artist in the US. The album also saw Logic overseeing his highest duration for an album on the chart, spending a combined 16 weeks on charts. The album also oversaw a 9% sale increase in the following weeks, selling an additional 13,000 album equivalent units by the year's end.[20] The album also debuted at number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, surpassing Under Pressure, which opened at number 2.

Alongside the album's commercial performance, two songs from within the album ("Fade Away" and "I Am the Greatest") also entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "Fade Away" debuted at number 44, combining sales with the majority of contributions coming from the song's 1.9 million weekly streams, with 56% stemming from activity on Spotify. "I Am the Greatest" also entered, arriving at number 50, with 1.7 million streams supporting its entry into the chart.[21] The album was soon confirmed to have sold 185,000 copies by January 2016.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Contact"  
  • Logic
  • Ponce
 2:43
2. "Fade Away"  
Logic 4:47
3. "Upgrade"  
 2:53
4. "White People (Scene)"  Hall II  1:39
5. "Like Woah"  
  • 6ix
  • Logic
 3:52
6. "Young Jesus" (featuring Big Lenbo)
6ix 3:35
7. "Innermission" (featuring Lucy Rose)
  • Hall II
  • Ivatury
  • Dylan "Sir Dylan" Wiggins
  • 6ix
  • Sir Dylan
 4:00
8. "I Am the Greatest"  
  • Syk Sense
  • OZ
  • Logic
 3:22
9. "The Cube (Scene)"  Hall II  0:27
10. "Lord Willin'"  
  • Hall II
  • Ivatury
  • Wiggins
  • Logic
  • 6ix
  • Sir Dylan
 3:28
11. "City of Stars"  
  • 6ix
  • Logic
 6:16
12. "Stainless" (featuring Dria)
 3:19
13. "Babel (Scene)"  Hall II  1:11
14. "Paradise" (featuring Jesse Boykins III)
 4:42
15. "Never Been"  
C-Sick 4:07
16. "Run It"  
  • Hall II
  • Dumazer
  • Richard Wylie
  • Anthony Hester
C-Sick 3:20
17. "Lucidity (Scene)"  
DJ Khalil 0:55
18. "The Incredible True Story"  
  • DJ Khalil
  • Logic
  • 6ix
 6:56
Total length:
 61:52

Sample credits

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23] 105
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[24] 196
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 7
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 79
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 47
US Billboard 200[29] 3
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[30] 1
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[31] 1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[32] 4

Release history

List of release dates, formats, and label
Date Format Label
November 13, 2015

References

  1. ↑ Ortiz, Edwin. "Logic Announces His Sophomore Album, 'The Incredible True Story'". Complex.
  2. ↑ "New Music: Logic feat. Big Lenbo – 'Young Jesus'". Rap-Up. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ Trevor Smith (October 14, 2015). "Logic – Like Woah". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ Smith, Trevor. "Logic Announces Sophomore Album Title". HotNewHipHop.
  5. ↑ C. M., Emmanuel (October 9, 2015). "Three Things You Need to Know About Logic's New Album". XXL. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Incredible True Story". Logic301 (September 21, 2015). "#TITSATOTMWSTW" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Goddard, Kevin (November 24, 2015). "Logic Explains Background Story Behind "The Incredible True Story" [New Video]". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Ahmed, Insanul. "The Winning Formula: How Logic Found the Key to Success". Complex.
  9. 1 2 Caballero, Martín. "Album review: Logic, 'The Incredible True Story'". The Boston Globe.
  10. ↑ Zach Frydenlund (November 5, 2015). "Check Out Logic's New Song, "Fade Away"". Complex. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Herdandez, Victoria. "Logic Announces "The Incredible True Story" Album". HipHopDX.
  12. ↑ "The Incredible True Story by Logic on iTunes". iTunes Store. 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  13. ↑ "Logic and FaZe Banks on the Tonight Show!". YouTube. 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  14. 1 2 "The Incredible True Story by Logic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "The Incredible True Story". AllMusic. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Erin Lowers (November 17, 2015). "Logic – The Incredible True Story". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  17. 1 2 Miller, Kellan. "Logic – The Incredible True Story". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  18. 1 2 Kimble, Julian. "Logic: The Incredible True Story Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  19. 1 2 Clara Wang (November 17, 2015). "RapReviews.com Feature for November 17, 2015 – Logic's "The Incredible True Story"". RapReviews.com. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Check Out The 15 Best Selling Hip Hop Albums Of The Year". hiphopearly. 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  21. ↑ Amaya Mendizabal (November 25, 2015). "Logic's 'Incredible True Story' Crowns Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Logic – The Incredible True Story". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Logic – The Incredible True Story" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Logic – The Incredible True Story" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Logic. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  26. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 47, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Logic – The Incredible True Story". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Logic. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Logic. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top Rap Albums for Logic. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Logic – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Logic. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
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