Buddy - Don’t Forget To Breathe (Review)
After spending all weekend with “Don’t Forget To Breathe” in heavy rotation, and as a longtime Buddy fan, I must say that he undoubtedly delivered.
Clocking in at about 35 minutes with a total of 12 songs, “Don’t Forget To Breathe” invites fans to join Buddy as he enters a new chapter of mindfulness, exploring themes of breathwork, aligning with your purpose, and knowing and believing in yourself.
Before we dive into it, I must note one of the qualities I enjoy about Buddy as an artist is his infectious energy, which I think fans can feel throughout his entire discography. This is also where I’d like to note that the production was one of my favorite parts of this project. The beats and instrumentation were arranged perfectly allowing Buddy’s fun, carefree personality to never take a back seat to the conscious content of the music. So, prepare yourself for something to bounce to, drive to, and breathe to.
“Don’t Forget To Breathe” starts with Buddy singing vulnerably and rapping melodically on “Free My Mind,” a single and music video released in October 2023, serving to me as Buddy’s official reintroduction to fans as a more aware, mature version of himself. It continues into another previously released single, “Like This,” which I’ve loved since first listen. There’s something about the drum and synth pairing that makes me imagine myself driving on the highway with the windows down, hair blowing, real West Coast-like. “You 2 Thank” also proceeded the album and concludes the album as an upbeat, dance track expressing gratitude.
My personal favorite on the album right now is “Do Thangs,” produced by Hollywood Cole. The beat is sick and I enjoyed hearing Buddy talk his sh*t over it. He repped his hometown Compton while delivering a confident West Coast flow. Another song I loved because of the production, was “Talk About It.” The spacey beat paired with the brass, Buddy’s storytelling, and Kent Jamz & BJ the Chicago Kid’s vocals did it for me. (I love any time Buddy & Kent Jamz pair up. “Janktape Vol.1” is still in rotation for me weekly.) I need to see this one performed live with a band.
Buddy made great feature selections throughout this album. PineappleCITI partnered on “Get It All” to deliver a chill bop. “Smoke” featuring Garren is another one of my faves on the album. Whoever is in the passenger seat turn this one up! My favorite parts: Buddy experiments with his vocals on this one, the guitar goes crazy, Buddy’s storytelling (again), and Garren’s vocals. Smino and Cedxric are spotlighted on “Should’ve Known,” a soulful, vibey banger. Huey Briss collaborated and delivered bars alongside Buddy on “Got Me Started” and it’s a bop, if I do say so myself.
If you couldn’t tell already, overall I thoroughly enjoyed this project and would highly recommend it. In a recent Sway interview, Buddy mentioned that he completed this project after returning from a psychedelic retreat in Portugal, and you can hear the influence in his vulnerability and self-awareness. He released a mini-documentary about it, Don’t Forget To Breathe (The Hero’s Journey). Also, this is Buddy’s first project as a fully independent artist owning his own masters. So if what you read interests you, you can purchase the album directly from him through even.biz with an option to pay what you want!