See You Next Wednesday

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, See You Next Wednesday 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 -- the Weeknd, 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