Under Pressure

***Under Pressure*** was Logic's first studio album. The development and composition of the album began in 2013, with the recording process taking place during a two-week span at the beginning of 2014. Production was primarily handled by No I.D., with the smaller contributions coming from 6ix, DJ Dahi, DJ Khalil, S1, Jake One, and Dun Deal.

The standard edition of the album had no guest appearances whatsoever, while the deluxe edition featured Big Sean and Childish Gambino on the tracks "Alright" and "Driving Ms. Daisy", which were present on the preceding EP -- *While You Wait* -- which was released earlier in 2014.

## Background

Between 2010 and 2013, Logic released four free mixtapes (*Young, Broke & Infamous*, *Young Sinatra*, *Young Sinatra: Undeniable*, and *Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever*) online and funded his own tours, through which he built a fanbase and reputation. According to Logic himself, the largest contributing factor in his rise to stardom was that he "hit the road and actually saw his fans face to face and shook their hands." He signed on with Def Jam five months after the release of *Young Sinatra* in 2011; the deal was kept secret until 2013, because he "didn't want the fans to be like, 'Oh he's going to change!'"

Logic has metaphorically described Def Jam as his "bank", which didn't interfere with his creative control or deal much with his publicity. Visionary Music Group, an indie label run by Logic, managed and funded his audio mixing, mastering, touring, and commissioning of album art.

Logic moved to LA in 2013 to work on *Under Pressure* with No I.D., who he later compared to Yoda. Several folks advised him to make the album more personal than his mixtapes, writing about his difficult upbringing in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Logic took the advice of Don Cannon, and omitted guest appearances in order to maintain the album's personal theme. The title of the album reflects the challenges of Logic's private life and rap career, while also referencing his belief that the album is "his diamond", as diamonds are formed by pressure.

His previous mixtapes dealt with his biracial heritage, but he changed his focus from race to culture on *Under Pressure*. Instead of going the radio route, he wanted to create a classic Hip-Hop album similar to the style of Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, Kanye West, and Big L.

Logic tried to make *Under Pressure* more consistent and more quintessentially hip-hop than his mixtapes, which he found incohesive. Although he admitted to emulating other rappers on his earlier releases, he believed that the album would finally crystallize "the sound of Logic".

## Music and lyrics

> Growing up there were guns in the house, my brothers were out selling crack. I grew up on Section 8 housing, food stamps, welfare, and dealing with social services. I never had a Christmas, I never had a birthday.
>
>

 *Under Pressure* details Logic's life story beginning with his childhood in Gaithersberg, Maryland, and as he described its content as "extremely, extremely dark." Logic conceived "Gang Related" after watching *Boyz n the Hood*. Logic considered it to be "a gangster record" that subverts the glorification of violence in common hip hop by describing criminal activities and corresponding violence that had surrounded him as a child, while showing that he chose a different lifestyle. After completing the first verse, he was blocked on the lyrics for ten days, until he thought to rap from the perspective of his brother who had dealt drugs in Logic's youth. His brother agreed to the idea and provided him with stories from the period.

While on tour with Kid Cudi, Logic received numerous voicemail messages from his family, which he "transcribed damn near word for word" and converted them into song lyrics. As a fan of hip hop braggadocio, Logic was initially uneasy about the results, but he chose to push forward with the idea. "Never Enough" was written as an "ignorant" track with a hidden meaning: it discusses the pleasures of "money, bitches, drugs [and] partying" but declares them insufficient for living a fulfilling life. Logic wrote "Till the End" about his difficulty breaking into the mainstream.

## Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

### Instrumentation

* Kevin Randolph - synths (tracks 1, 2), bass line (track 1), pads (track 2), piano (track 11)
* Steve Wyreman - guitar (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10-12), piano (tracks 1, 3, 11), organ (track 1), lead guitar (tracks 1, 3), synth (track 2), bass line (tracks 2, 3, 5, 9), bass (track 11)
* Tom Lea - violin (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10-12), viola (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10-12)
* Claire Courchene - cello (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10-12)
* Dylan - synth (track 1)
* Terrance Martin - saxophone (tracks 7, 10)

## Video(s)

Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 19- Verge Campus Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 20- Verge Campus Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 21- Verge Campus Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 23- While You Wait Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 24- While You Wait Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 25- While You Wait Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 26- Fairfax Meet And Greet-2Logic - Under Pressure (Official Music Video)Logic - Under Pressure (Behind The Scenes)Logic solves Rubik's cube in 1 MINUTE while rehearsing for his World TourLogic - Just Another Day Ep. 27- The Under Pressure Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 28- The Under Pressure Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 29- The Under Pressure Tour-2Logic - Just Another Day Ep. 30- The Under Pressure Tour-2
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Andre Grant (October 31, 2014). "Logic Tells Stories Behind *Under Pressure* & Explains Finding His Sound". *HipHopDX*.
2. ↑ *Under Pressure* (CD liner notes). Logic. Def Jam Recordings. 2014. 2616309.