Logic is more than a rapper — at least, that’s how he sees himself. This much became apparent on Tuesday, when he A) released Supermarket, his debut novel, which tells the story of a depressed 24-year-old deadbeat named Flynn who takes a job at a grocery store in his rural Oregon town, and B) released Supermarket (Soundtrack), the novel’s 13-track musical companion, which finds him diving headlong into the world of 1990s and 2000s alternative rock. The album begins inauspiciously, with a seven-minute stoner odyssey titled “Bohemian Trapsody.” [Find the book on Amazon] If all this seems like a terrible idea, that’s because it is. During his rise to international stardom, Logic has presented himself as two parts MC, one part secular preacher. Gone on Supermarket is his slick machine gun flow. Instead, he resolutely sets out into unfamiliar musical waters, embracing singing and rock tropes with the same fatal self-assurance as John Allen Chau, the missionary who famously died under a hail of arrows while trying to convert an isolated island tribe in the Indian Ocean last fall. Logic’s sudden rebrand as a novelist-cum-Rivers Cuomo impressionist isn’t nearly as shocking as it should be. He has a habit of creatively over-extending himself; on his ambitious 2017 concept album Everybody, he floated half-baked ideas about inclusivity and race and prominently featured Neil deGrasse Tyson as the voice of God. Logic appears to see himself as a human DONDA chart who, through the power of peace, love, and positivity, can achieve anything he sets his mind to. And so, with this combination of naivety and hubris, he has now delivered a suite of vapid love songs that sound as though they were written and recorded in 2004 by a bright-eyed 14-year-old who knows four guitar chords and worships Ben Folds. Supermarket is bold yet bland, determined yet derivative, and lacking in anything resembling self-awareness or personal vision. Supermarket is filled with crude, soft-edged approximations of existing alt-rock songs that make Logic sound like he’s singing over a series of unauthorized karaoke backing tracks. “Pretty Young Girl” borrows the wistful piano countermelody of Semisonic’s “Closing Time”; “Supermarket,” the summer-ready guitar strums of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”; “Time Machine,” the imperiled balladry of Radiohead’s “Karma Police.” The fingerprints of Matchbox Twenty, Dave Matthews, and Coldplay are all over the album, as are those of the Red Hot Chili Peppers; on the odious “Lemon Drop,” Logic shamelessly apes Anthony Kiedis as he drops toothless Rick and Morty references and boasts about using pot to “get litty.” That Logic wears his influences on his sleeve isn’t inherently bad, especially considering this is his first proper foray into rock music. He is severely limited, however, by his flat singing voice. He has used it sparingly up to this point in his career, and the fact that he relies on it so heavily on Supermarket suggests that he was feeling gassed up after his melodic 2018 single “Everyday” cracked the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. Far worse than his singing is his songwriting, which ranges from baffling (“If you a crybaby bitch, I’mma fuck your mom”) to brutal (“I built a time machine for you / But you always die, no matter what I do to”) and is often both at the same time (belting the entire hook of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” over an off-brand “Drops of Jupiter” instrumental). Even the attachment between novel and soundtrack feels tenuous; across thirteen tracks, Logic reveals little about the narrator, his experiences, or the girl with whom he is infatuated. The highlights of Supermarket pop up whenever Logic veers away from the alt-rock aesthetic. The few moments he does rap are breaths of fresh air, as are the two songs that lean into R&B: “Can I Kick It,” which features a pleasant vocal turn from the Atlanta singer Juto, and “I’m Probably Gonna Rock Your World,” one of two songs on the album that Mac DeMarco co-produced. Supermarket exists on a different plane than Juice WRLD, Dominic Fike, XXXTentacion, Lil Peep, and the new generation of artists eager to bridge hip hop’s sounds and tropes with those of rock. It has more in common with Lil Wayne’s Rebirth and Kid Cudi’s Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven, both disastrous rock experiments carried out by established rappers that today serve as cautionary tales. It’s possible that Logic took the $30 million deal he inked with Def Jam this time last year as license to roll out his vision for himself as Donald Glover-esque multi-hyphenate. Supermarket is hard proof that big stars still dream, and that big dreams sometimes die hard. [Find the book on Amazon]<doc-sep>Rapper Logic has released his debut novel, Supermarket, and the 29-year-old surprised fans with an accompanying soundtrack for his written effort. Logic wrote the book under the name "Bobby Hall" and the novel is described as "a darkly funny psychological thriller, Supermarket is a gripping exploration into madness and creativity. Who knew you could find sex, drugs, and murder all in aisle nine?" Flynn is stuck—depressed, recently dumped, and living at his mom’s house. The supermarket was supposed to change all that. An ordinary job and a steady check. Work isn’t work when it’s saving you from yourself. But things aren’t quite as they seem in these aisles. Arriving to work one day to a crime scene, Flynn’s world collapses as the secrets of his tortured mind are revealed. And Flynn doesn’t want to go looking for answers at the supermarket. Because something there seems to be looking for him. The soundtrack is impressive with a vibe that is comparable to that of a film score. It's an auditory experience that partners well with the acts of sitting down and enjoying a good book, as the soundtrack itself takes the listener through a journey. Take a listen and let us know what you think. Tracklist 1. Bohemian Trapsody 2. Can I Kick It (Ft. Juto) 3. Time Machine 4. Pretty Young Girl 5. Supermarket 6. Baby 7. By The Bridge 8. Best Friend 9. Lemon Drop 10. I'm Probably Gonna Rock Your World 11. Vacation From Myself 12. DeLorean 13. I Love You Forever<doc-sep>Bobby Hall, aka Logic, is now a best selling author as well as a popular rapper, now that his novel, Supermarket, has gone No. 1 on Amazon’s Best-Selling Books list. The list ranks titles by their rate of sales movement, meaning Supermarket is rapidly selling after its release Tuesday, with reviews singing its praises — or at least, Logic’s praises, since it doesn’t seem all that likely most of the reviewers finished it within hours after purchase. Logic, who told Trevor Noah of The Daily Show that he wrote Supermarket because he manager told him he couldn’t just write a novel, has long cultivated a passionate fanbase who are likely the main ones buying and reviewing the book. His positivity and awkward relatability have endeared him to fans who see him as more of a friend than an out-of-reach celebrity entertainer, and the glowing reviews so far reflect that. One reads: “Amazing book! Bobby really does a great job at painting a picture. Listening to it on Audible adds to the experience.” Another notes that the reviewer isn’t a reader of books (shout-out to Kanye) but that Supermarket is a “Really great book, even if you don’t normally read. I found myself laughing at moments and couldn’t stop reading.” The plot of the novel revolves around a depressed grocery store employee who discovers a crime scene and has his life upended in the aftermath. Judging from the reviews, it could probably have been about just about anything and it would have been a home run for Logic, who continued his winning musical streak at the same time with the release an alternative-music companion album for Supermarket on Tuesday as well.<doc-sep>
Supermarket is the tale of a depressed grocery store employee in the suburbs whose ordinary life is disrupted when he stumbles upon a crime scene. But you wouldn’t exactly know that — or really much else about the plot, style, characters or writing — from the reviews from its fans. Logic, a.k.a. Bobby Hall, released Supermarket on Tuesday, paired with a 13-song soundtrack, and the rapper’s debut novel has already shot up to the Number One spot on Amazon’s best-selling books list, which ranks titles by their rate of sales movement. Simon and Schuster, the novel’s publisher, described the book in press materials as “a gripping exploration into madness and creativity” and dubbed Logic one of the most creative artists of the generation. “Bobby Hall has crafted a mind-bending first novel, with prose that is just as fierce and moving as his lyrics,” Ready Player One author Ernest Cline said in a blurb for the novel, adding that the book is “like Naked Lunch meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — if they met at Fight Club.” But it is Supermarket‘s reviewers on Amazon, of which there are, at press time, 28, who are showering it with the most passionate, if vague, love. This book is an amazing book I don’t read but I’m gonna read this book so proud of bobby Amazing book! Bobby really does a great job at painting a picture. Listening to it on Audible adds to the experience wow. i’m actually mind blown by how good this novel actually is. of course i knew it was going to be good because bobby puts his everything in his work but this is just outstanding. ✌🏻❤️➕ A few chapters in and it’s amazing. I love Logic, but typically when artists start branching out the quality drops too so I wasn’t expecting too much. With Supermarket I was really blown away with how well written it is and how drawn in I am. 5/5 MUST BUY Done with chapter 1 its a well written book i was hype all day i ran from my bus to my house as fast possible just to read it Really great book, even if you don’t normally read. I found myself laughing at moments and couldn’t stop reading one of the most well written books i’ve ever read I’m ganna love it already. idk how he does it. but it is an amazing read i even like the soundtrack too Real page turner; I can’t put it down. If you are a little apprehensive whether to purchase or not. I can assure you it is really good. You won’t be disappointed with your purchase. Wow. In an interview with Trevor Noah, Logic said the book was initially prompted by a comment from his manager: “Yeah, dude, you can’t write a book.” So, Logic said, he “just read a bunch of books” and wrote a book. From a commercial standpoint, his confidence is paying off. [Find the book on Amazon here]