Instead of the typical pseudo-definitive ranking of the “Best Albums of 2016,” this December we’re trying something different. The Rutgers Review is bringing you 31 days of our writers’ favorite albums this year, from internationally anticipated releases to local debuts to a few guilty pleasures, without caring what critics have had to say.
Zayn Malik introduced a new level of petty when he dropped his first solo album, Mind of Mine, exactly a year to the date after he left world renowned pop boy-band One Direction.
Known as the mysterious, brooding-type of the band, Zayn Malik’s inner thoughts and the makings of his solo career were finally revealed on his debut album. He invites us into this “mind of his” starting from the first track, “MiNd of MiNdd (intro).” The four-lined song lets listeners know from the jump that we’re getting into what the musician is thinking on the regular (“Open up and see what’s inside of my, my mind”).
So what exactly runs through the mind of a wealthy, talented twenty-three year old, and what does he experience? His recounting of promiscuous encounters, declarations of physical attractions, and tales of intoxicated nights makes it clear what he does, but also that the album is a final goodbye to the clean-cut boy-band pop singer the world once knew Malik as.
Looking past the fact that the tracklist is spelled out as if he was stuck in an early 2000s MySpace frame of mind, the album is a fairly great attempt on Malik’s part for debuting his take on the R&B sound that he’d been so desperately craving to create in the five years he was part of One Direction.
Mind of Mine expertly showcases Malik’s vocal abilities with the soulful, sexual beats produced by Malay, the same instrumental mastermind behind Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. Gifting the world with his famous falsetto on tracks like “iT’s YoU” and “BeFoUr” (also known as the track directly referring to his experiences following his departure from One Direction) and showing how he’s perfected the art of ad-libbing an entire freestyle on “lUcOzAdE,” the album delivers both the soft, rhythm-filled and bass-heavy bumping sides seen in the R&B genre.
The real standout track on the album would be “INTERMISSION flower.” Sung completely (and also beautifully) in his father’s native language of Urdu, Malik embraces his English-Pakistani heritage on the Pakistani folk-infused track.
Finally, the strength of his solo album is shown with its only feature being “wRoNg” featuring up and coming R&B artist Kehlani, making the album a truly amazing solo effort for Malik and the perfect beginning of creating his own sound after years of being trapped in the factory pop cycle.