Written by Nikolai Dineros
From his fish-out-of-water stories, inebriated romance attempts, and youthful recklessness across the board, Feng tries to reinvent the rock-and-roll star image through maximalism-veiled minimalism.
In his first major album release, ‘Weekend Rockstar,’ the English-Filipino rapper follows a formula: take the scruff from the cloud rap template, then spruce it up with more contemporary elements of his time. Sometimes, this is done as a display of ingenuity, and other times, as a hint of the undercookedness of some ideas served too early.
Except for his more daring ventures — such as in “F’d Up,” “J*b,” and “XOXO” — where Feng doubles down on the dreamy ambience produced by layers of glitchy synths and sample chops paired with his mellow delivery, much of ‘Weekend Rockstar’ falls short in capturing the self-flagellating levels of devotion rockstars give to the pathos of their sound; rather, they aggregate the unsuccessful attempt at embellishing a sound with unnecessary polish.
Coincidentally, these three examples are also some of his most emotionally potent on the album, and the most Feng sounded like a rockstar. However, some of his more passive performances — like in “Dopest Girl,” “Superstar,” and “Best Friend” — exhibit a positive contrast to Feng’s bombastic highlights.
But where Feng’s artistic direction stumbles, his storytelling shines.
‘Weekend Rockstar’ is best seen as a journal of a coming-of-age narrator in a drunken stupor for greatness. Deeply entrenched in the cold, dreary streets of his UK upbringing, Feng was upfront about his desire to add color to his life. By moving to the United States, as he aptly shared in his energetic album opener, “Cali Crazy,” he believed his life was about to change — that he was about to become the rockstar he was always destined to become.
From there, Feng further explores the daze of becoming “teenage famous” through events of pure, juvenile ecstasy that he wears on his sleeves. These experiences range from hating his job before his big break (“J*b”), lamenting the changes to a new life (“Fireworks”), and failed relationships turned casual hookups (“XOXO” and “Ex Sex”).
Softening the blow is “Superstar,” where Feng’s own admissions to the pitfalls of fame that he may be ensnared by (or the thoughts thereof that are keeping him awake at night) are on full display. Though whether there is guilt involved in these displays of vulnerability, we can not tell entirely, as his laidback approach to singing masks the true sentiment behind the flex.
Whether he comes from a place of pride or shame, Feng believes these experiences will make him a rockstar, even just for a weekend. His pen game already proves that he has the makings of one. But in order to realize his full potential, he now needs to think about just how much farther his stardom can reach.
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