Very few artists have been able to become one of the most beloved artists in the world with only one full-length album. In about a year and a half, singer Khalid has been able to climb to the third most listened artist on Spotify. That goes to show how talented he is and how well-made his 2017 debut album American Teen had been. In less than a year, and before he even turned twenty years old, his album went platinum. With one of the top albums of 2017 and unbelievable potential, it’s safe to say I expected a lot out of whatever project he decided to drop next. Khalid’s EP Suncity was released on October 19.

The EP includes five tracks along with an intro and interlude. While EPs are normally small like this, the Suncity tracks are relatively long. This gives new listeners a chance to savor the effort and quality Khalid puts into his music without having to commit themselves to listening to an entire album.

The quality of Suncity is its biggest positive for me. No song is a filler song and they all sound like he put an amazing effort into the EP. He relies on his own talent with only one feature. It seems he went for a calm, lo-fi style beats and vocals on all of the tracks besides Suncity. Khalid uses very calming vocals in all the tracks, yet the lyrics still have the depth and versatility we expect from him. If this album does one thing, it solidifies Khalid as one of the premier vocalists in today’s music.

Suncity still suffers from what I think a lot of EPs suffer from. It’s boring. It lacks a sense of originality and each song is not very distinct from the last. His lyrics and vocals, while still very good, are not on par with American Teen and even songs he was featured on.

The high point of Suncity was the track of the same name and “Motion”.

This EP, despite a lack of originality, is still a quality project definitely worth listening to. 7/10.