_{By Trevor Myers}

Kaden Frost released 2020 Graduate in the year 2020 — the year the world got put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. Several students who were in school were initially excited by the extra week off school. That excitement quickly turned into something else as long-awaited events like prom and graduation were canceled or held through alternative methods that did not live up to the expectations that had been brewing throughout all those years of school. Kaden Frost was one of those students. I was, too, and found a lot of my own sentiments echoed in this album.

While some people may have been unsure of what to do during quarantine conditions, others were dropping rap songs just months into the pandemic. Kaden Frost’s 2020 Graduate is a time machine that takes listeners — especially his fellow class of 2020 graduates — back to the beginning of the pandemic. Throughout the project, Frost makes several references to the coronavirus, sometimes turning it into a punchline: “I don’t got corona but I’m ill, ill, ill.” 

2020 Graduate features four tracks that give listeners a peek into the mind of a young adult who is unsure what’s next. Frost’s flow is reminiscent of NF, but a little less angry. With religious references and a noticeable lack of explicit lyrics, the tracks on the project stand out from other rappers. It’s always interesting when rappers can keep their lyrics clean but still make it sound like rap music. 

“RUN” hooks listeners into the record from the get-go. As soon as the first beat drop hits, you can tell it’s going to be a sick track. “RUN” is the most popular track from the project, with nearly 120,000 plays. Once you listen to it, you’ll probably understand why. The beat bounces and Frost gets some pretty impressive speed with some of the lines — and you can still understand every word he says.

“Show Me What It Do” also gets some impressive speed and “HOW YOU DO DAT?” closes out the record with Frost looking toward the future. 2020 Graduate came at a time of uncertainty, but Frost is certain that he’ll make it somewhere. He raps, “Yeah, imma really do it” near the end of the final song, bringing the whole project to a satisfying conclusion.

“2020” is one of the calmer songs on the project and almost has the same vibes as a blues song. Not musically, but emotionally. The track behind the vocals is a simple beat with looping instrumentals. It works really well with the flow of the song, and emphasizes the feelings in the song. It feels almost conversational as Frost laments, “I was doing what I love with the homies / Then corona came and stole it / So much for 2020”. “2020” weaves a story and paints a picture without needing anything more than the simple track behind the lyrics. 

For future projects, Frost shouldn’t shy away from doing more of the narrative-type tracks. With just four songs on 2020 Graduate, he was still able to showcase an impressive range of styles. It would be interesting to see what else he tries as he develops his style and sound. 2020 Graduate effectively captures the unsteady feelings of someone entering adulthood while simultaneously adjusting to pandemic conditions.

Make sure to follow Kaden Frost on Instagram. You can listen to “2020” below.