bigpapicarter – ‘Learning the Ground’ [Album Review]

Bigpapicarter is a Cuban-American rapper/producer from Broward County, South Florida, who is making his rounds in the rap game, where nothing is promised. Armed with a commanding flow, knack for penning off-kilter rhymes with raw bravado and with a full hands-on approach to music making, he sure is taking no shorts or losses. His latest release, Learning the Ground, is a self-produced 12-track body of work that serves as a semi-autobiographical work of sorts. Backed by soulful backdrops, carefully selected by the artist himself, the rapper takes listeners on a journey that revolves around loss, pain and the never-ending struggles that come with balancing daily life with his art.

The project kicks off with “How Long?,” a reflective and somewhat braggadocio-driven track that gives us a taste of what to come for the rest of the project. Lines like “I’m the Mack doing big don shit/Johnny Sack, fuck around and have you whacked if you calling my bitches fat/No slack for rappers, I work myself into a cardiac arrest/Heart attack, no sleeping I’m an insomniac” serve as the rapper’s slingshot o the naysayers while the hook reflects on how far he has come and he is surely not looking back. The next track, “Belong,” has a trippy piano sample with soft vocal chops underpinned by his vivid storytelling. Here he talks about his ultimate dream, a good life with a loving spouse, but life keeps throwing him curveballs. The title track is a solemn piano-laden jazz/soul piece that unveils Bigpapicarter’s layered core. He shares stories of his part, the several experiences that shaped him, and his influences, but never sugarcoats anything. He acknowledges the dark clouds and the bright sunny days as well.

“Kinetic” has a punchy but soulful vibe that is reminiscent of  mid 2000s Little Brother and here, Bigpapicarter delievers a brilliant performance with a solid hook thus “The way I see it yall pathetic/focus on aesthetics but my energy’s kinetic/I want you to just chill out and dead it/So pass the mic to me, BC ‘bout to set it.” The track “Tetra 48: An Autobiography” lives up to expectations as he takes listeners to his humble beginnings when he came to this Earth in 98 and how his upbringing gave him the tools and life lessons that made him who he is today. This is followed by “Took Me Home,” a candid track about failed relationships and how easy one can get jaded in the dating pool. The production on “Fade Away” is ethereal and atmospheric, and evokes a trippy feeling or an out-of-body experience. Once again, Bigpapicarter holds it down with his expressive and commanding presence on the mic.

The final two tracks, “Cool Is Still Me” and “On & On,” help bring the project to a close with a blend of jazz-infused boombap sound and vivid lyricism that carries listeners and keeps them locked in. The former dives into a plethora of topics from his support system, i.e his family and friends who helped him during the dark days, to his process of finding and chopping samples for his beats. The latter is another soulful jam that is upbeat and energetic, underpinned by unfiltered bravado-driven bars with a touch of insight into what makes him tick.

Overall, Learning the Ground is a solid representation of an emcee who grow up on the hiphop classics. His beats are pounding, soulful and evoke that 90s vibe while his lyricism is top-notch. Other interesting cuts include the reflective “Say My Name,” the lyric-dense “Nothing” with a classic sample flip and a relatable theme about appreciation and the gloomy cinematic “Searching the Clouds.”