A great album is hard to find. There are many necessary elements to making good music, and it takes time and effort at every level—in the music, the lyrics, the singing, and even the arrangement of the song order—to create an album in which every song hits just right. I’d like to think that The Human Condition by Jon Bellion, produced by the Visionary Music Group and Capitol Records, is one of those records. (Though I’ll be the first to admit, I’m biased in its favor.)

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The Human Condition, at the time of release in June 2016, was the pièce de résistance of Bellion’s then four-album career, and every element of its production still works perfectly. The music has a brilliant mix of Pop, Rap, and R&B roots that culminates in an entirely new sound that’s unique to Bellion’s work, utilizing a beautiful variety of both real and synth instrumentals. The lyrics and rap are a masterclass in writing quality, beautiful, playful, and rich with reference that truly blow listeners away.

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But the element most central to the album’s success is its honesty. Every song, regardless of subject matter, is filled with genuine emotions and fresh perspectives on modern life. It talks about romantic relationships in terms of both sex and love, and doesn’t shy away from being vulnerable. It’s honest about the pressures that a musical career can put on a person’s life and morals, and how having money and success can sometimes become a dangerous temptation. It’s difficult to write from such a perspective—this open vulnerability—without being uncomfortably candid, but Bellion’s ability to manage that balance is what truly makes this album great.

 

He Is The Same 

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The first song of the album, He Is The Same, is written as a parallel—or rather, a follow-up— to the final song of Bellion’s last album (The Definition—2014), Luxury. Luxury mulls over Bellion’s worries about how his career and the money he earns from it could change him as a person, and that if he ‘leaves’ he may not come back the same guy he was before. It’s a gentle finale for the album, and it leaves listeners with a great final line: ‘Please don’t let my soul drown in luxury’.

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He Is The Same picks up right where Luxury left off—a perfect ‘hello again’ in response to last album’s ‘see you later’—with a slightly awkward electronic metronome beat that slides perfectly into synth and vocals, and Bellion declaring he still lives in his dad’s house, he’s happy living in community, and even though he has success and money now he isn’t going to let it change him. I also thought it was cool that both songs use trumpets and horn parts, as well as a guest singer at the end of the song, in ways that clearly parallel each other but still sound distinct and fresh. 

 

80’s Films 

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80’s Films is a bright and easygoing song about having fun, reckless sex in the back seat of a friend’s car. It’s also about how a relationship with someone you love and trust can make your 30’s feel like being in 9th grade again, young and free to love with his whole chest. It's sweet and tender song about how love can make you feel, and the music itself is very fun as well.

 

All Time Low 

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All Time Low was the album’s single and the radio hit that landed on the Top 40 charts within a span of three months. It’s a classic breakup song with a few novel twists (hearing him use the word ‘masturbate’ so plainly in a song was pretty jarring for me in high school), but it’s also an incredibly genuine song about the emotions you go through in the first day after a breakup: the horniness, depression, and everything else. It’s also a perfect taste-test of Bellion’s production style, using synth and beats in a unique way distinctive to him and his records. 

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New York Soul – Pt. ii 

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New York Soul – Pt. ii is actually a reference to the tenth track on Bellion's second album, The Separation. Titled NewYorkSoul, the song is written from the perspective of Bellion, who's away halfway across the world on tour and trying to keep in touch with his loved ones back home in New York. He tries to keep in touch—by calling on the phone, exchanging postcards, checking Instagram—but he still longs to be back home with them because that's where his soul is. It's a song filled with longing, and the music reflects that with a single piano and minimal synth effects, creating a quiet, empty sound.

New York Soul – Pt. ii is also about New York, but instead of talking about the people he misses it talks about the place itself: the parts of New York that are his home, as well as the parts that aren’t. 

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Verse One is dedicated to Brooklyn, his home, where he grew up and where his family and friends live. Regardless of how “dangerous” the area is, or how people clutch their pearls at the culture and the people, that's his home, and there is no other place in the world he feels safer, more loved, and more centered as a person. 

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Verse Two, on the other hand, is dedicated to the glitzier, more glamorous side of New York. Famous, fashionable, and rich, these are the places that a young, successful musician like Bellion is expected to be a part of, now that he has the money and success to mingle in these circles. This is where New York is truly dangerous, in expensive restaurants, fancy bars and loud nightclubs, where the people aren’t genuine and just don’t care about you beyond whatever fun they can get out of you in the moment.

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Both of these verses are rich in Bellion’s vivid, brilliant writing style, and the music itself fluctuates to fit each section of the song, balancing all three sets of rhythm and melody beautifully. 

 

Fashion 

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When I found out this song is the only one on the record that Bellion doesn’t have production credits for I was surprised, but not by much. Fashion has a very different sound compared to the rest of the album, and especially compared to New York Soul – Pt. ii, despite sharing the same message: that glamour and popularity (and attention) can be addictive and corrosive to your morals and personality if you let it. 

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I actually think having the same message in two different styles works really well to clarify and hammer home the concept for as many different listeners as possible. Where New York Soul – Pt. ii was rap heavy and fast, and in some places nearly desperate, Fashion is more soft and lyrical, with quiet instrumentals and a clear singing voice that makes the song easier for the casual listener to understand and process at a slower pace. 

 

Maybe IDK 

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Compared to the others, this is a simple, straightforward song. It’s about having to put faith in the world and making peace with not knowing everything that may happen. Emotionally, though, that’s a really hard thing to come to terms with. It takes a lot of maturity, self-understanding, and vulnerability to get to that place, and it’s rare that anyone achieves that, much less writes such a good song about it.

 

Woke the F*ck Up 

Woke the F*ck Up is about asking your FWB to be exclusive with you. It’s also about being afraid of vulnerability, specifically in the context of modern friendships and dating culture. Like in 80’s Films, Bellion does a really good job balancing describing the relationship in terms of both sex and emotional intimacy, and despite how terrifying it is for his character to reach out, he lets himself be vulnerable and honest to his girlfriend because he’d rather be vulnerable now than alone later. 

 

Overwhelming 

This song is a love song, through and through. It’s a little playful and silly, but at its core it’s about a really mature, loving relationship between two people who are comfortable enough with each other to be goofy and a little annoying together around their friends and family. They're genuinely having fun with their relationship, and they enjoy being with each other, with and without the sex. 

 

Weight of the World 

Taking a break from relationships, Weight of the World centers back on the pressure and stress of Bellion’s music career, and how handling and managing those stresses can feel like holding the weight of the world on your shoulders. Despite the assurances we got in He Is The Same and Luxury, Bellion is starting to struggle with this. The pressure is building more and more, to the point that it feels almost world-ending, but in the end it’s his relationships that keep him humble, and help keep that weight from crushing him entirely. 

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I thought the general superman/superhero theme was a good touch, both in the lyrics and the guest rap (Blaque Keys) at the end. The word play is brilliant, though it is quick paced, almost too quick to catch without a good ear or a lyric sheet.

 

The Good In Me 

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The Good In Me is where the The Human Condition seems to veer into the role of a concept album of sorts, and where we see the first true sign of Bellion’s character beginning to slip up and make mistakes. He finds himself in a toxic situation: the girl that he loves is cheating on another man with him. Everyone’s trust is being tried and tested and he has to confront a lot of messy emotions because of it. He loves the girl, but he resents both her for putting him in this situation, as well as himself for allowing her to. He also feels ashamed for allowing himself to lose his morals over her, and guilty for playing a hand in another man’s downfall.

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It’s also interesting to see how far the character has come in just a few songs. In Woke the F*ck Up, being vulnerable worked wonders for his situation, but here it backfires badly. 

 

Morning in America 

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Back in high school I didn’t really like this song. It was my least favorite on the album, in fact, but that doesn’t mean I hated the song, only that I didn’t quite get it at 16. Now that I'm older, I think I understand the song lot better, and I have a better appreciation for it than some of the others, even the ones that used to be my favorite. 

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Morning in America is about Vices, the nasty kinds that you hear about in the news and pretend only happen to other people, when in reality everyone has a few of their own.  Everyone, including kids with high ACT scores, and families who live in the suburbs, and adults that have middle-class incomes. It’s a commentary on the American culture, and how it treats vices like these as if they only happen in “bad neighborhoods” and overlooks the people who are from “safe” parts of town. 

 

iRobot 

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iRobot is a little more difficult to decipher than the rest. In this song, Bellion’s character is a cyborg, a half-human, half-machine person, who had emotions once but doesn’t anymore, because someone took his heart out and made him unfeeling and passionless.

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I think Bellion uses this imagery (going by all themes that are already in that album) as a metaphor for how modern culture changes the way we connect with people. Like in Woke the F*ck Up and New York Soul – Pt. ii, he’s commenting on how dating, especially in the world of music, is disingenuous and shallow. When all your relationships are all based on sex, and don’t delve much further than that, it makes it harder and harder to make sincere connections. At least, that’s what I think he's commenting on. 

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I also think the music is really chill. I like how at some points the beat is very simple, calm and emotionless, like his “robot parts”, and those parts have a bit of a robotic, simple sound, but when he hits the bridge and sings about his old passion, the volume raises a little bit and the emotion shows a little through his voice. It’s not enough to hit you in the face, just enough for it to be a subtle change. And I think that’s really cool. 

 

Guillotine 

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Guillotine is about loving someone despite their baggage. I really like this song because, besides how cool it sounds, not a lot of love songs delve into this side of relationships. Sometimes the person you love has skeletons in their closet, and sometimes you have just as many skeletons in your own closet. It’s one thing to sleep with someone every once in a while, but it’s another thing to have someone who actively acknowledges and takes care of you, supporting you through everything while you do the same for them. It's about the vulnerability and honesty, balanced with a hint of playfulness, like in Overwhelming and 80s Films, that is integral to a good relationship, the kind that Bellion’s character has been striving for through the whole album.

 

Hand of God (Outro)

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The final piece of the album, Hand of God, is about a man desperately trying to keep a hold of his morals and his beliefs. He’s doing his best but he keeps slipping up and making a mess of things. In this song, he’s seeing an old girlfriend again for sex. Even though it's cruel to lead her on, he's lonely, and so he reaches out to her even though he knows the relationship can't go any further. Afterwards he's ashamed and lost, and feels bad for messing up, but his mom assures him that “his whole life’s in the Hand of God.” 

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I take that to mean that, sometimes you can't change fate. You have to just believe that your life is going the way it's meant to go and accept it, mistakes and all. That’s a very hard thought to come to terms with for a lot of people, but it’s something we often forget. No one is ever truly done learning and growing as a person. Our main character still has a long ways to grow (spiritually, and musically!) before he even finishes this period of his life. And I think that’s really beautiful.