Jacquees has been spending most of 2018 in the studio – at least that’s the takeaway with his release of Lost At Sea 2 – a follow-up album to his premiere collaborative project with Birdman in 2016 as well as the second full-length project he’s granted the world this year. 4275, which came out early in the Summer, was a 19-track marathon fervently reminiscent of an R&B era not so long gone. It melted into Jacquees’s impossible-to-replicate vocals appearances from R&B legends like Jagged Edge and Chris Brown, granting Jacquees the space he needed to revel in his own foundations. Though certainly a strong project, it left something modern to be desired, especially amongst a smattering of new-age R&B and neo-soul vocalists making a claim for the styling’s futurist directions. Paying homage to his influences may have inadvertently aged Jacquees instead of making him more relevant. 

 

But now, with Lost At Sea 2, Jacquees is back to his inventive form, pulling together Southern charm and Rhythm & Blues in a way permanently close to the aesthetic’s core, while having no issue taking his sound in a slew of interesting directions. Though there will forever be something about his texture that reminds our ears of 2000’s R&B, the only thing seemingly aged and unnecessary in Lost At Sea 2 are half-assed punchlines courtesy of Birdman. 

 

Bird calls aside, Jacquees and Lost At Sea 2 are strewn with sexy ballads and uptempo R&B bangers worthy for a listen or two from any R&B or Southside fan.