Album Review: PARTYNEXTDOOR - PARTYMOBILE

After teasing fans with Drake collaboration Loyal, Toronto artist Jahron Braithwaite, better known as PARTYNEXTDOOR, rises to the challenge of returning after a hiatus with a sizzler of an album in PARTYMOBILE. Breaking the naming pattern of his albums, the party continues in much the same fashion as where it left off. Four years is a long time to wait, but PARTY makes up for it with 15 tracks of the R&B fans have grown to love him for. After several features scattered throughout that time, he returns to claim the stage. 

PARTYMOBILE paints a picture of what it’s like to be in Jahron’s world; the highs, lows, and every emotion that comes with it. Whether it’s arriving to the party with Eye On It or Trauma, or staying until after everyone’s left (Split Decision, Nothing Less), PARTY always knows how to set the mood. PGT is sure to be his next single, and Rihanna collab Believe It is already a hit with fans who’ve been waiting to hear something new from both artists. This long-awaited team-up almost didn’t happen, with PARTY explaining in an interview to Hypebeast that it was Drake who reminded him that the track even existed. “I think maybe four months ago when I had just started the mixing process for the album, Drake and my team called me and reminded me of this demo that I did and she was on board. She ended up loving the record. It’s very self-aware, it’s a conversation.” Other standouts include Turn Up, Showing You and Another Day, all of which set distinctly different moods but are all essentially PARTY at their core. Over the almost hour-long LP, he manages to weave a narrative of loneliness, loyalty (and sometimes the lack thereof), and each track cuts a little bit deeper than the last. 

Overall, the seamless blend of R&B, dancehall, and rap makes PARTY’s return that much more satisfactory. He’s as vulnerable as ever, a quality his fans have responded to ever since his 2014 hit Recognize. Having written most of the tracks on his own, with a little help from OVO powerhouse Noah “40” Shebib, PARTYMOBILE once again demonstrates PARTYNEXTDOOR’s well-rounded artistry all the way from start to finish.

Reviewed by: Grayson Harris-Paul