WurlD’s My WorlD With U is one we’re happy to inhabit

My WorlD With U is the Los Angeles-based artists third solo album, but it feels like he’s stepping into his own with the album's title and his name aligning. Wanting to make the genre of afrobeats accessible, the album is ripe with sweet melodies and rhythms; the 19-song tracklist throws everything at the wall, and things are bound to stick.

The first half of the album dawdles, though; “GUCCI” slows momentum down with its droning sound and questionable lyrics (“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe / Switch up a new episode”), and “SOMETHING TO LOSE” reiterates the same ideas of trust and depth in a relationship with no sonic development.

“LET YOU DOWN”, however, is a lively song telling the tale of infidelity. The ominous horns and eagle screeching heighten the storytelling as he says, “Never should’ve met her in the hotel / I said I’m sorry with the Bentley.” Likewise, “SAME AS YOU” is a slow jam with welcome strings and slick beat — but this time, WurlD is the other man. “Say she loves the same / She loves me the same as you,” he informs the girl’s boyfriend. Cheating is often messy or volatile, but there’s a mature approach to the song; “Oh, I think it’s crazy / But at least you know me,” he says.

The second half of the album is stronger, starting off with “SHINE”, a jam about a partner’s uplifting presence. The song is assisted by the heavyweight “John Cena” rapper Sho Madjozi, whose impactful (albeit short) verse touts the lyrics, “You are everything you say you are / And you really got me shining like a shooting star.”

“SPUNK” kicks the record into a groove that cements a solid ending. The theme, again, is complimenting a partner’s qualities (“Move with your body / Yeah, you got that spunk.”) But the highlight here is the beat — the sparse but distinctive elements coming together to create an addicting melody with a tremendous amount of replay value. The song’s ability to create such momentum with little instrumentation is a treat.

The album closer ends on a great note — “NO EASY LOVE” relies on WurlD’s lyricism. The scant instrumental adds to the effect while sounding vaguely Animal Crossing-esque with its echoes and tiny taps. Reflecting on himself, he sings, “Give all my time to my baby, oh / Show all my flaws to my baby, oh,” closing on a positive note of self-improvement.

A slight but not detrimental problem comes with album’s complexity—songs like “TOXIC” do little more than rehash Twitter fodder. We hear him sing that a previous partner was toxic, we hear him ask why they were toxic, but not much else is said. Similarly, the contents of “SWEET N FINE” and “OVERTHINKING” can be gleamed from the titles. The latter appeals to the lowest common denominator of anxiety, including, “Wish it could be so easy like that / Oh well.”

The tracklist could easily be a tight twelve; some songs don’t expand beyond reiterating a specific quality someone has (“SHINE”, “STAMINA”, “PRESS”). These songs can slot easily into study or work playlists with not too much attention paid to the writing, supported by sleek and well-produced beats that don’t get too repetitive. With its chill vibe and easy listening, My WorlD With U is a well-timed body of work that’ll prove helpful in advancing afrobeats to the wider culture.