Syre
by Jaden Smith
  • Record Label: MSFTS
  • Release Date: Nov 17, 2017
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    Nov 21, 2017
    60
    The record isn’t weighed down by its ideas--it could just do with a filter, a producer with more sway, or even someone in the process to say: “Actually Jaden, mate--most trees are green.”
  2. Pitchfork
    Nov 21, 2017
    51
    While there are some musical highlights--like the 8-bit ambience of the Ricky Eat Acid-produced title-track--the album is constantly in pursuit of a voice it never finds. Which highlight Smith’s writing, some of the worst in rap this year. His lyrics are crass and half-baked and insulting to one’s intelligence.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 106 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 106
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 106
  3. Negative: 8 out of 106
  1. Kahlil007
    Nov 24, 2017
    8
    I'm tired of seeing reviews saying he's weak lyrically. Yes his lyrics is not his strength but the fact that a 19 year old can even make dueI'm tired of seeing reviews saying he's weak lyrically. Yes his lyrics is not his strength but the fact that a 19 year old can even make due with this production and have great lyrical MOMENTS in a debut project like this, is insane. His charisma, thoughts, and flow keeps you engaged alone, but trust me as he gets older his lyrics will upgrade as well.
    A strong debut, i'll give it a 7.5 on a good day 8/10 i've always been a casual fan but this made me into an official one.
    Highlights: B,L,U,E, Falcon, Ninety, Lost Boy, Icon, Fallen    … Full Review »
  2. lostboy8000
    Nov 22, 2017
    9
    For a debut album from a 19 year old, this is insanely well done.
    People complain about the corny lyrics, however there are moments here    For a debut album from a 19 year old, this is insanely well done.
    People complain about the corny lyrics, however there are moments here where Jaden shines lyrically. Overall, there is room for growth but remember that this is his debut album. With time, we can definitely expect to see improvements in lyricism.
    As far as production goes, this album probably has some of the best for the year. Lido did his thing, alongside the other producers involved.    … Full Review »
  3. NintendoJapan
    Nov 24, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Jaden Smith has really surprised me on the project. The production on this album is the best I've seen come out of a 2017 album, he's only 19 AND it's his first album!

    'Syre' begins with beautiful vocals from Willow Smith that are a wonder to listen to. 'Syre' begins with 4 tracks named 'B', 'L', 'U', and 'E' respectfully and they all blend into each other into an essentially 13 minute intro that is surprisingly decent. These four tracks is followed by 'Breakfast' which features A$AP Rocky (a personal favourite of mine). Breakfast has quite a nice repeating beat with some damn nice bars from Jaden (e.g. When I talk to Kendrick, man, I sit on the ground (yuh) Just to get a little reference So we have no confusion **** ) The A$AP Rocky feature is HARDLY a feature when all he does is speak to Jaden (and I mean like normal conversation, it literally sounds like you're at a party and they're in the next room talking and thats the A$AP Rocky feature) dissapointing and a waste of Rocky but meh, I was iffy on this track. Hope follows Breakfast and once again Jaden spits some nice as bars with a VERY nice flow with an amazing beat, the production is the star of this album. Falcon is next and the best part of Falcon is the beautiful singing voice of Raury in the bridge that flows very nicely into the second verse with Jaden. Only thing I really disliked about this song was the 'Where are you now' at the beginning from Jaden that just sounded 'off'. The next two songs is Ninety and Lost Boy and they are probably my personal favourites on Syre. Both are very passionate and both are quite long - 7:48 and 9:30. Lost Boy isn't liked by quite a lot of reviews, primarily it's unnecessarily length which I agree with, a solid 3 minutes could've been cut but it's the 'You're all alone
    Does she love you? You'll never know
    I’ll love her ‘till forever on
    'Till she kills my soul'
    is absolutely beautiful with an awe inspiring beat that makes this track a personal favorite but I can see why people dislike Lost Boy. Batman, Icon, and Watch Me were released prior to Syre and they can be a hit or miss for a lot of people, I like Icon way more than the others simply because it has better lyricism, the beat on all 3 tracks are extremely nice though. Fallen was also released earlier, late 2016 actually and it features Jaden's beautiful singing voice that I adore but this song didn't interest me a lot if I'm being honest. Now, The Passion is next and ooooo boy this song is screaming amazing production with some satisfying flows and bars from Jaden and an amazing Hook. This is probably one of my favorites from the album. George Jeff follows The Passion and is essentially a 'freestyle' type rap, like we saw Kendrick do with Backseat Freestyle. This track is just kinda fun to be honest. Rapper has a sick beat but the lyrics are just OK, they don't really fulfill the beat. SYRE is the last track and is essentially a poem about Jadens life, quite beautiful but not a song per say.

    Overall, Syre really surprised me and I cannot wait to see what Jaden has in store for the future and I hope this production keeps with him because it is insane.    … Full Review »
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