Underrated Albums: American Teen

Khalid Donnel Robinson, known by his stage name Khalid, is a brand new artist who emerged when he dropped his hit single “Location” in 2016. The single received over 17 million views on Soundcloud, 26.5 million on Spotify, and 4 million on YouTube.

With his obvious talent for music, Khalid signed with Right Hand Music Group/RCA Records.

From Jan. to Feb. of 2017 he went on his “Location Tour”, and sold out every single venue in 21 different US cities as well as in Europe. The tour clearly increased his publicity, and his popularity skyrocketed.   

With this rise to fame, he released his very first studio album, American Teen, on March 3, 2017. The album includes “Location” as well as 14 other tracks coming in at about a total of 55 minutes.

American Teen is an album of the modern era made for people who are young or want to feel young again. A perfect example of this is “Young, Dumb, & Broke”.

The lyrics “But we still got love to give while we’re… Young, dumb, broke high school kids” explains it all. The song makes you appreciate the little time you have or used to have of being a stupid teen.

“Young, Dumb, & Broke” will make you want to take a long drive with the windows down at sunset, but some of his other songs target a different mood, such as “Coaster”. This song will make you realize you were too good for your ex even if you don’t have one.

Besides those three songs, his other 12 tracks including “American Teen”, “8TEEN”, “Another Sad Love Song”, “Angels”, “Cold Blooded”, “Therapy”, and “Let’s Go” are for sure worth the listen.

All together, Khalid creates emotionally loaded music that focuses on the feelings of the listeners. He paints a picture of social media and young love with the styles of pop, R&B, and in some songs, a touch of soul.

Above all, the variety of the music and relatability to today’s youth is show stopping. There is no doubt that this album deserves the space on your phone.