Chasing Summer: SiR’s Los Angeles Love Letter

October 23, 2019

Music has a way of transporting you to another place in a short amount of time. With just a couple weeks of summer left, Top Dawg Entertainment crooner SiR, released his third album Chasing Summer. The 14-track album takes listeners on a smooth trip through his love letter to Los Angeles and its women.

The album begins with a faint ding, one reminiscent of the sound you hear on a crowded airplane right before the flight attendant makes the landing announcement. A staticky voice blends in the background as the Inglewood born and raised singer begins singing the opening track, "Hair Down" featuring Grammy award-winning rapper and label-mate Kendrick Lamar. “Hair Down” is a melodic ode about learning to be confident in one’s skin.

“At the time I was writing the song, I wrote it on the road. I was on tour with Kendrick and Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock, and I was having trouble with myself and just my confidence,” SiR explained. “I wrote that for myself, trying to just give myself some motivation. I wanted everybody else to kind of let their hair down. I feel like it did what it was supposed to do and it was definitely therapeutic for me.”

SiR continues the airy theme with the record, “New Sky”. The track which features neo-soul artist Kadhja Bonet touches on difficulties he's facing after a breakup with his lover. The song opens with him hopping on a flight to get away from his heartbreak. On the flight, he reflects on how none of his coping mechanisms are helping to heal his broken heart. "New Sky" is relatable because let's be honest, we've all been there. Most listeners have gone through some sort of breakup and have spent way too much time thinking about what they could have done differently to avoid the outcome they've been dealt with.

In the second track of the album, "John Redcorn", SiR finds inspiration from an unconventional source. The standout track is SiR's interpretation of a storyline from Fox's animated series King of the Hill.

On the show, John Redcorn is a man involved in a longstanding affair with is neighbor Nancy Hick Gribble. The three-minute song gives Redcorn's side of the story as SiR sings about feelings of self-doubt and lonesomeness. The reimagining of John Redcorn's storyline is especially surprising because on the show Redcorn is a meek figure, who barely speaks but in SiR’s song, his feelings are laid bare. In an interview with DJ Booth, SiR explains he was inspired to write this song because he’s been in Redcorn’s shoes before.

“It fits a lot of situations I’ve been in where I put my heart out there, and it wasn’t reciprocated or things that happen in relationships," SiR said.

While his album touches a lot on love and relationships, it is also a beautiful ode to Los Angeles. The last two songs on the album "The Recipe" and "LA", intertwine and blend into each other seamlessly to become a touching love letter to his hometown.

On first listen, "The Recipe" comes off as a song about unrequited love between two lovers. SiR croons about a woman who has fallen in love with him but he does not feel the same. Despite SiR telling his paramour on multiple occasions they could not be together, the woman continues to break off relationships to be with him. After a couple listens, one could deduce SiR is not talking about a woman, but other cities. After all, the theme of the album is traveling. His album cover is a collage of luggage tags with different airport abbreviations sprawled all over them. SiR effortlessly sings about no matter how much he loves spending time in other cities, LA will always be home.

Chasing Summer: SiR’s Los Angeles Love LetterAs the album fades into its last song, the theory of “The Recipe” being about LA is all but confirmed. In the final track, “LA” starts breezy chants asking to be taken back to his hometown. He states LA has told him it would never forgive him if he never came back, which answers the question to why he and the “other woman” in the previous track could never be together. It’s because his heart belongs to the city he’s lived in for all of his life.

Overall, SiR's third album is a majestic piece of R&B. With features from artists like Jill Scott and Lil Wayne, SiR proves he's not only versatile but that he can hold his own with industry heavyweights.