There's a great Raury record in the pipeline

On All We Need, Raury is at his best when he makes his hip-hop influences plainer on tracks like “Woodcrest Manor II” and “Trap Tears.” Elsewhere, the 19 year-old artist sometimes gets drowned out by the weightiness of the themes he’s wrestling.​

There are plenty of bright spots, like the graceful autotune of “CPU” and the ending of “Devil’s Whisper,” which features a frenetic jumble of synths and drums as well as some of the best pure rapping Raury has given us in his brief career. There, he demonstrates a knack for wordplay and storytelling that suits his understated delivery.

Yet when he gets too lofty, like on the Big K.R.I.T.-assisted ‘Wake up, sheeple’ anthem “Forbidden Knowledge” his subtle charisma is masked. There will come a time when Raury can make a record like that work, but it’s just not now.

Blending rap and rock has always been thorny territory, and while the message on songs like “Revolution” is important the execution leaves something to be desired. The chugging guitar creates a sense of urgency, but Raury’s lyrics are a series of platitudes. He seriously rhymes “revolution” and “evolution” in one particularly cringe-worthy couplet.

It’s a win for music that artists like Raury exist. He’s shown an undeniable talent, particularly on more focused tracks like Indigo Child’s “Cigarette Song.” All We Need ultimately serves as another reminder that – with some seasoning – there is a great Raury record coming down the pipeline. This just isn’t it.