Belly
experienced extreme lows and highs between the 2018 release of
Immigrant
and the 2021 arrival of
See You Next Wednesday
. Shortly after he co-wrote seven of the songs on
the Weeknd
's 2020 album
After Hours
, including "Blinding Lights" and "Save Your Tears," he opened up about his struggles with depression and PTSD. Although the references to his troubles are fleeting and non-specific,
has a harder-fought triumphal undercurrent that gives it an edge over the rapper's previous albums and mixtapes. There's a sense that the featured artists --
,
Nas
Benny the Butcher
, and
Young Thug
among them -- are rallying around the protagonist, who responds with steely, highly concentrated verses containing some of his cleverest wordplay. ~ Andy Kellman