Ten years have led to this. From his debut album “Under Pressure” to the intergalactic adventure that was “The Incredible True Story,” the social commentary that was “Everybody,” and the introspective “No Pressure,” Logic’s decade long universe finally comes to a close with “Ultra 85.”
The Maryland native’s ninth studio album is a culmination of the universe Logic has been building for his previous four concept albums. As he has released these albums, his skill has increased and his style has evolved. In this LP we see all of his styles and his history come together in the following 20 tracks.
This is Logic’s most consistent album to date. Just about every song feels like it should be there and even though this album is over an hour long, it manages to fill almost all of that runtime with meaningful songs that showcase where this artist has been and where he is going.
The standout tracks all have something unique about them. The opener, “Paul Rodriguez” has almost six full minutes of Logic rapping over one of the best vocal samples I have ever heard. “Mission Control (feat. T Man the Wizard)” includes a sample from Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade” which adds some color to this rather short track. “Fear” has Logic rapping over a house beat at an incredible speed at some points.
Call backs are a major part of this LP. There are multiple instances of reused samples and interpolations from Logic’s past projects. These span previous albums and even some of his early mixtapes. Here are the most noticeable ones.
“Paul Rodriguez” rescues a vocal sample from “man i is” off “No Pressure.” “Deja Vu (feat. DJ Drama)” is a sequel to “Fade Away” from “The Incredible True Story.” “Ghost in the Machine (feat. Robert Ivory, ADÉ)” nods to “Slave” and “Slave II” from “Bobby Tarantino.” “44ever” uses the same synth heavily used in “Bobby Tarantino III.” Both “Interstellar (feat. Lucy Rose)” and “City in the Stars (feat. Robert Ivory)” are both sequels to tracks on “The Incredible True Story.” All of these callbacks make this record Logic’s equivalent to “Rogue One” or the 2013 “Evil Dead,” pure fan service done right.
The story component of this album is a prequel to “The Incredible True Story.” It shows the first mission Quentin Thomas and William Kai ever went on together. Like “The Incredible True Story” the skits to tell the story are corny and can sometimes be annoying but at least, for the most part, they are on separate tracks which makes it easier to add the songs and not the skits to a playlist.
The tail end of this album are four of the strongest of Logic’s career. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is Logic telling his life story through metaphors and allusions to film. The beat is pretty laid back and Logic’s flow is solid for all five minutes of this track.
“Peace Love & Positivity” has a similar beat to the previous track and goes over Logic’s motivation to spread Peace Love and Positivity. As with the previous track, the beat is laid back but this time features a more prominent vocal sample with some more jazzy elements thrown in.
“City in the Stars (feat. Robert Ivory)” is a sequel to “City Of Stars” from “The Incredible True Story.” That being said, it feels more like “Never Been” from the same album. The feature from Robert Ivory is beyond incredible and is my pick for the best track on this album.
The closing song, “Thank You for Believing in Me” is Logic’s love letter to everything in this album and his career. It is sentimental, heartwarming and absolutely beautiful. To conclude this album, which took a decade to make, it does a phenomenal job.
Overall, this LP is Logic at his finest. From finishing the universe that he has been creating to making a magnum opus of all of his previous albums and styles combined, this is what I have been waiting for. Logic’s music has gotten me through some rough times in my life. I admit not all of his albums are good and there are a few that I will down right avoid but, this string of concept albums is some of the best music I have ever heard. Ultra 85 has finally brought this all together and to a close in one of the best ways possible. 10/10
Featured image (at top): Pictured above is the album cover to Logic’s “Ultra 85.” This was released all the way back in August of 2024 but is so very special to me I had to get this review out.
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