Kobe Vidal Crawford Jr., better known as NoCap, is a 26-year-old artist from Mobile, Alabama. He is currently signed under Baton Rouge native YoungBoy’s Never Broke Again record label which is a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. He released his first project in 2018 titled ‘Neighborhood Hero’ and maintaining his momentum he followed that up in 2019 with another project called ‘The Backend Child’ which gained him notoriety across the nation. Profiting from his new fame, he dropped his debut album ‘Mr. Crawford’ in 2022 having it debut at number 8 on the Billboard 200 selling 29,000 copies in his first week and becoming his highest-charting project. His recent release, ‘Before I Disappear Again’ (Deluxe) came out on January 22, 2025, includes 29 songs and has a run time of 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Of the 29 songs on the album, it holds a plethora of different hits but there were 4 that really caught my attention and put an ear worm in my brain. Those 4 songs are “One More Summer”, “Judge the Jury”, “Simple”, and “I Cried”.
“One More Summer” is a rock influenced love song that is quite the treat. With NoCap’s creative and witty word play he helps create a vivid picture for the listener to imagine everything that he is saying. During the song he speaks about how his lover is always on his mind and how he enjoys their presence. This song is perfect to play when you’re with your significant other because it describes how much you admire and love them.
“Judge The Jury” is a slower paced song that helps shift the album in a different direction. This song is about betrayal and how he deals with that feeling when the betrayal comes from a trusted friend. NoCap also talks about the multiple ways he deals with betrayal by always staying busy which helps him grow as a person.
“Simple” is a very soothing and relaxing song. With this track he displays why he is considered to be one of the most lyrical artists of our time. Compared to most of the songs on the album this track has a more feel-good vibe with its up tempo beat and lyrics.
“I Cried” is a blueprint on how to end a perfect album. This song rehashes NoCap’s past experiences of being incarcerated to losing loved ones to the system due to unforeseen circumstances. He reflects on how losing the people he cared for the most impacted his mental health and the pain that he went through years ago still weighs extremely heavy on him.
‘Before I Disappear Again’ (Deluxe) has great word play and is a high-quality work of inner pain and trauma turned into acceptance and growth. It is definitely worth a listen.
