Last Friday one of my personal favorite music artists, Quinn XCII, released his brand new album, “The Peoples Champ.” His 5th fully flushed studio album with more to come I’m sure. The album was released on January 27th, with 12 songs total, 8 brand new and 4 having been released as singles the previous weeks. 

The album itself is much more personal in comparison to his other works. While all his music has a personable feeling to it, this album takes that to new heights with certain songs like Bartender, which mentions the loss of money from an album flopping, or Black Porsche, a song dealing with the isolation of fame and being distant from those you love, and one of my personal favorites, Why Do You Talk to Me? It talks about how he met his wife and how he feels like she’s too good for him or not good enough for her. All the songs in this album tell some type of story, whether it be dealing with a toxic relationship or simply meeting someone you have so much in common with that it’s a fantastic friendship.

The first track on the album, Bartender, is one that opens up with some gentle instrumental before Quinn starts singing about struggling to understand algorithms and being stuck in this limbo of rockstar and indie, ending the night with going to the bar to get something to drink. The song itself is a great track, the chorus being a catchy attention grabber about feeling weird and needing a drink every now and then. It’s a great first track for a great album.

The second track on the album, Common ft. Big Sean, was previously released as a single to start the hype for the album, sporting a much more upbeat instrumental and all-around happier vibe of you and your best friend having so much in common. The song starts with Quinn singing how great a pair of people they are and how well they go together, making each other better in the process. Big Seans’ chorus is a great addition, adding a nice depth to the song. It’s a good cheery follow-up to the opening track, bringing in some positive energy before the next much more mellow track.

The third track takes a bit of a turn. The song, Black Porsche, brings a lot of personal experiences to the surface, of how while as much as people want to be famous, it isolates you and traps you in this place of limbo. The song itself has a strong baseline, with the main focus of the song being on the fact that he sometimes wishes he had never even started music and just stayed as he had. The black Porsche just sitting in the garage not being driven and sitting there, a sign of wealth generally, and something that people would normally flex and show off, but instead he talks about it as though it’s a burden and something he wishes he had never gotten.

The fourth track and one of my personal favorites, FOMO, talks about FOMO. It has a gentle animal crossing soundtrack before the chorus starts and the baseline comes in. Quinn talks about being at home while his wife goes out and does things, and because of that, he gets FOMO. He’s since gotten better about it but the song itself really hits hard to me, someone who has FOMO, the lines like, “Act a little sad until you come back,” or, “Don’t go make new memories,” being really strong. The song itself is an absolute blast to belt out when you’re driving alone, that I can confirm.

The fifth track, Let Me Down ft.Chelsea Cutler, is one that I’ve related to and really enjoy. It talks about being in a toxic relationship and putting in the effort you can but not getting any in return. Lines like, “Spent my paycheck to see ya, talk myself up in the mirror so you can let me down,” hit close to home. If you’ve been in a relationship like that the song will make you feel a lot but that’s not a bad thing cause feelings are important to feel after all. Chelsea Cutler brings a lot to the table, with her and Quinns’ chemistry having been already established in the numerous other tracks they’ve collaborated on in the past.

The sixth track, Good Either Way ft. Adrian Cota, talks about accepting change and just relaxing and taking things as they come. The song has a nice upbeat instrumental and is a great song to just vibe to, accepting that change is something that happens no matter what, so staying positive and accepting that fact is the best you can do. It’s a great positive song about just relaxing and doing your own thing. Adrian Cota brings a lot of flair into this song and makes it even better as well.

The seventh song, Too Late ft. AJR, is similar to Good Either Way in the sense that accepting someone leaving your life. It talks about how he’s changed as a person and that he feels as though he’s been going the right way with his life, but whoever it is doesn’t agree, so it’s better to move on rather than try and change yourself to fit someone else’s image of you. The song is bittersweet with its message but the instrumental that was definitely worked on with AJR brings this song to another level.

The eighth song, The Lows, has a message of not being able to live properly if all you have are highs, cause you can’t have them without the lows. He talks about his self-image in the first verse and the chorus talks about feeling good about being on your own and feeling the best when he lets everything go and just being in the moment. The song is a great addition to the already great album and adds another layer of personality to the album.

The ninth song, Being Me, talks about what it’s like being in Quinn’s own headspace. The song is a message of self-improvement but with a hint of cynicism. He talks about trying to change the way he grew up, one of the main things being bottling up your own feelings and not letting them show. Another thing he talks about is the constant chase to find happiness and how he feels guilty that others have found it while he hasn’t. The main line of the song is, “I guess I need to be okay with being me,” ending the song on a more positive note of self-acceptance.

The tenth song, Why Do You Talk To Me? Is another one of my personal favorites for various reasons. The song boasts a happier-sounding instrumental but with much sadder lyrics, creating a beautiful contrast between lyrics and song. The song talks about not feeling good enough for your significant other, whether it be your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, and everything in between with lines like, “No one who looks like you looks at me,” “Must have thought of someone else,” create a sad but serious story that I’m sure many of have felt at some point or another.

The eleventh song, Backpack, talks about high school and trying things to impress someone you’re interested in romantically, but the way the song talks about impressing said someone is in a much different way than normal. The song was the first one to be released as a single, introducing us to the new sound Quinn would be bringing with this album. The song itself isn’t my personal favorite but nonetheless, I still enjoy the song for what it is. A song about trying things to impress someone.

The twelfth and final song on the album, All That You Need, is a positive song with a gentle instrumental, bringing this great album to a gentle close and letting it end on a happy note, a common theme with a lot of Quinns’ work. The song talks about relaxing, releasing, letting go and just being in the moment with the people you hold close.

This album was a long-awaited body of work that I was personally very excited about and I’m happy to say that it’s been delivered. Some songs feel personal like you almost shouldn’t be listening to them because of how much Quinn puts himself out there while others are just feel-good songs with positive messages. The album delivers on all fronts and is a great body of work, and something I’ll definitely have on loop until he releases more music again, in conclusion, I’d give the album a 9/10 and I recommend it for anyone who likes songs with good messages, happy vibes, and can appreciate his mix of both instruments and other methods.