Khalid’s “Scenic Drive” Is Out Now; Features Alicia Keys, 6LACK And More!

Khalid releases a new mixtape Scenic Drive. Alicia Keys, 6LACK, JID, and more joined Khalid on his most experimental record.

“Scenic Drive is actually one of the spots that I go to, or I went to a lot in El Paso,” American Young Adult recently shared with Zane Lowe. “It’s this drive up this mountainside, and then you look to the left, and you see Juarez and see El Paso.”

Radio interference, the sound of the door closing and car passing, pieces of Khalid’s hit songs. This begins Scenic Drive. Alicia Keys’ robotic voice joins a couple of seconds later with a short PSA: “Thank you for tuning in The Scenic Drive. We’re here tonight to provide the vibes, so sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.”

While Khalid’s new tape remains the artist’s sincerity and unique sadness, experiments also occur throughout Scenic Drive.

The Scenic Drive Cover Marks The Change

Khalid is the translator of modern youth’s collective unconscious. More specifically, the part responsible for melancholy. The main focus of Khalid’s music is on emotional, romantic experiences. Meanwhile, young people’s financial woes and other problems also appear from time to time.

Khalid’s album covers are also usually melancholic. Scenic Drive is not the first disc to have the scenic landscape on its cover, with the artist in a commonly tragic posture.

The evolution of Khalid’s album covers. Source: Amazon Music.

However, all Khalid’s album covers had light coloring and were set in the natural landscape. This time the artist is in the nighttime city.

It’s also interesting to see the “car evolution” throughout Khalid’s albums. American Teen cover lacks any vehicle, while Free Spirit already presents the artist on a hippie van. This time, Scenic Drive takes place on a fancy muscle coupe.

The profound change is noticeable, whether it’s just the artist’s change of taste or the new societal perception of melancholy.

Same Inspirations, New Experiments

Khalid still takes a lot of inspiration from synth-pop. However, the artist takes his credo to a new level. Various sound experiments top the Intro mentioned above. Don’t expect a monotonous “Young Dumb & Broke” flow; expect the flitting chorus with the cannonades of ad-libs.

While Khalid is growing as an artist, he progresses as a lyricist. The artist’s brand-name sincerity is now more subtle and complicated, which might be just a result of the growing-up process. Regardless, short phrases with deeper meanings prevail over the record.

Listen to Scenic Drive here:

Written by Nikita Serdiuk