Khalid takes fans on a soul-hop Scenic Drive with latest EP
Los Angeles, California – Khalid's newly released EP, Scenic Drive, packs quite the melodic and soul-quenching punch despite being a nine-track record.
When you put Alicia Keys on the intro track to an EP, it's certain to be quite the collection of sounds and stories.
Such is the case with Scenic Drive – Khalid's follow-up to his 2019 studio album, Free Spirit.
In October, the 23-year-old tweeted that, "this is no longer an EP, it's way more special to me," and the sentiment is not only heard, but felt throughout the record.
Though Khalid put his stake in the ground of the music industry as the soft-spoken shy guy that writes low-key love songs at 3 AM, his latest EP shows off the artist's latest creative evolution.
The album's second track, Present, got the star treatment in the form of a music video, where Khalid quite literally shows off his personal growth by participating in some choreographed dance sequences with a grin across his face.
Scenic Drive is the soundtrack to your twenties
The edgy soul-hop hooks that Khalid, born Khalid Donnel Robinson, has become known for shows up on tracks like Brand New, Voicemail, and Open.
Unlike Khalid's two full-length albums, this EP totes several features with some of the hottest names in music today, like JID, Majid Jordan, Ari Lennox, and QUIN.
But the EP's most noteworthy features might come on the track Retrograde, with the help of 6LACK and Lucky Daye.
After Khalid soulfully croons, "I'll take some time, sit in my retrograde. I'm getting high, so I don't feel no pain. In my mind, I feel it in my veins," 6LACK then brings some earth-shattering truth to the track, saying, "They f****** with me for the benefit. How am I supposed to know, when everybody sound the same in a new Lambo."
Khalid rounds out the EP with its title track, Scenic Drive, where he dishes on the feelings he's going through while cruising with his day one sitting shotgun.
"Chasing a high, it feels amazing. You in my ride, we were just blazing. Under the lights, straight to the ceiling. Out on my drive, give me a feeling," Khalid sings.
Overall, Scenic Drive encapsulates the fleeting feelings that can only be experienced in your early-to-mid twenties, and it's everything fans – both new and old – could've dreamt for from the budding young talent that is Khalid.
Cover photo: thegr8khalid