Legendary (2019)

Legendary is the seventh studio album by American rapper Tyga, released on June 7, 2019, by Last Kings Records and Empire Distribution. It follows the release of his sixth album Kyoto (2018). It includes the singles "Taste" featuring Offset, "Goddamn" (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie on the album version), and "Haute" featuring Chris Brown and J Balvin. A deluxe version of the album was released on August 23, 2019. It features four previously released singles: "Dip" with Nicki Minaj, "Girls Have Fun" featuring G-Eazy and Rich the Kid, "Swish" and "Floss in the Bank", as well as four new songs.

Background

Tyga said he had no intentions of releasing a full-length project at the time, but felt inspired after receiving constant requests from fans following the release of his single "Taste": "I really didn't plan to have a whole album," Tyga said in an interview with Ryan Seacrest. "I was just putting out singles, just putting out party vibes, and I was just recording as I went and people were like 'We want an album! We want an album!' So I was like it's only right one year later, let me drop it for the summer."

Legendary was originally supposed to be a double album, and was announced as such by Tyga in 2019. However, it ended up having 14 tracks on its standard edition. He said that the recording process for the album was to "not write [the lyrics] down, record it as I go."

Tyga said that the album's cover art was inspired by Carter II and also an old Ice T cover.

Critical reception

HotNewHipHop reviewed it positively, commenting that “Legendary recognizes that the formula of “Taste” is, not only a successful one, but what a lot of people want and expect to hear from him.” Vulture called it “a smarter, more judiciously crafted version of a DJ Khaled album: It ropes in major stars, up-and-comers, and bubbling sounds but molds them into the coherent vision of a single human being.”

HipHopDX gave a mixed-to-negative response towards the album, saying that "If Tyga’s goal is to be as Legendary as the title of his latest album suggests, he needs to do better. After all, he certainly knows better".

Commercial performance

On the day of the release, Legendary was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) due to a technicality which incorporates the track-equivalent units moved by the previously released single "Taste".

Legendary debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 with 24,524 album-equivalent units. The album marks his highest-charting project since 2015's Fan of a Fan: The Album collaboration with Chris Brown.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Technical

Christian "CQ" Quinonez – engineering (all tracks)