Chronological Ballistics (LP) - C.P. Queen of Rapsoul (R&B) C.P. Queen of Rap Soul has a self proclaimed title that sets up quite a task for her debut album “Chronological Ballistics.” C.P., or Carle Pen, partners with Brian Johnson, “B~nYce”, on the beats to compile a 20 track album that spans genres (R&B to Reggae to Hip Hop) as well as the emotional spectrum—from life’s difficulties to just getting on the floor at a party. We break into C.P.’s debut effort below, reviewing some of our favorites from the LP.
C.P.’s “Chronological Ballistics” certainly has a retro flare, spanning the R&B and Hip Hop landscape from the late 90s to the mid 00s. The use of interludes alone takes us back to the days of a Janet Jackson album where songs were grouped together thematically and ushered along by spoken word or sound effect heavy interlude frames. Here, however, C.P. most reminds us of TLC—her intro track alone gave us Fanmail vibes for sure. There’s a lot of C.P. that actually reminds us of that GOAT girl group, specifically in her harmonies. There’s a lot of T-Boz in C.P. and we wonder if her vocal harmonies were an inspiration for the project. The instrumentation gave us TLC’s “3D” vibes, however, and a lot of that 00s era future R&B. There are also a few turns into reggae and rap, and in those moments we are reminded of Shawnna’s debut album.
Over the 20 tracks, C.P. covers a lot of subject matter. After the introduction, she starts off as every good debut artist should—telling us her story. It’s been a difficult journey for C.P., which she shares very openly on “Straitryda”, from the passing of her mother, the suicide of the father of her child, abuse…she really pulls no punches in letting you know exactly where she is coming from. But most shocking of all is how little the album dwells on what could turn out to be a sorrowful suite of songs. In fact, we think “Chronological Ballistics” is a joyful album that shines most when C.P. just takes us to the dance floor for a good time. There’s a power in being able to find joy in the shadow of darkness, and that appears to be C.P.’s testament.
Our favorite tracks by far are the party anthems, and C.P. seems to be begging for a viral dance challenge with “Funky Lou” and “Oly Oxen Free.” Like the electric slide, cupid shuffle and stanky leg, C.P. is not afraid to step into the spotlight and declare a new dance. The tracks are extremely catchy—some real earworm material there—and you can definitely see them bringing audiences to the floor to execute the accompanying dance number. “Party @ The Club” is also a banger, which simply states the desire to party. With so much moody and broody R&B these days, it’s refreshing to hear a straight down the middle “let’s dance” kind of track.
Outside of the dance numbers, our favorite track is “Winner”—another future R&B track whose harmonies in the chorus reminds us so much of TLC. It’s a great way to close a strong project, and nice bookend to the introductory recitation of darkness—emerging the winner.
As she tells us in the intro, chronological means the order of time while ballistics refers to the science of projectiles. I guess that it means it’s C.P.’s time to soar.