On Jason Chung’s third album as Nosaj Thing, the Los Angeles producer seems intent on escaping the baggage of his legacy. His earlier recordings spawned legions of imitators, and Chung, like many other key figures of the L.A. beat scene, reacted by eschewing the uplifting, crowd-pleasing sounds that garnered him prime-time slots at major festivals. Thankfully, his current understated, minimalist approach doesn’t abandon the qualities that made his earlier work so mesmerizing.
While most of Fated is deliberately sparse, it’s still somehow lush and rich. Apart from a couple of collaborations with vocalists, most of the tracks feature floaty, instrumental New Age hip-hop beats that fade into the ether. That might seem like a criticism, but it actually works as a compromise between Chung’s ambient electronic impulses and pop instincts. You might only remember the songs with words, but the rest of the album puts those moments in context.
Top track: Cold Stares, featuring Chance the Rapper
