These Things Happen Too - G-Eazy
Ever since his 2014 album, These Things Happen, G-Eazy has generated a cult following. And truthfully, with so much variety in his discography, it’d be hard to hate all of his songs. But the album that brought him into the spotlight was undoubtedly These Things Happen. For the last 7 years, fans have been dying to relive the TTH experience.
However, as he became more A-list, much of the Bay Area rapper’s music wandered from the style fans originally fell in love with. Some listeners felt like he lost his signature sound in pursuit of making billboard hits. This isn’t directly related, but does anybody remember this?
hot girl summer baby
Anyway, after bouncing back from waves of criticism from long-time fans and a fling with Megan Thee Stallion, Gerald delivered These Things Happen Too, a sequel to These Things Happen, and it was a breath of fresh air. G brought in long-time collaborators like Marc E Bassy & E-40 and truly ran it back to 2014. He opens up about his regrets with Halsey and his sadness about Mac Miller’s death, and he writes a heartfelt letter to his late step-mother. The album is full of honest reflection, vivid storytelling, and borderline-misogynistic remarks. Nothing’s changed!
The project is also full of callbacks, where he recycles lyrics from his old tracks and puts a new twist on them. Each callback has a purpose and references a song with a similar theme. An example being the phrase “this is everything you asked for,” which shows up in “Wanna Be Myself”, but originally was used in “Sad Boy.” Both songs are vulnerable and introspective and come to the conclusion that even though the life of a famous rapper looks great on paper, it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows.
Several other songs show how surprisingly self-aware G-Eazy is about his current position in the eyes of fans and the music industry. The final track, “Gerald,” notes that people always talk about him and what he should be doing without actually caring about his well being. He says that because of this, he's learned to focus on himself and in “These Things Happen Too,” drops the bar “I make what I wanna make, but I won’t make everyone happy.”
One of my favorites on the album was “Time (feat. Matthew Shultz),” which was incredibly reminiscent of “Everything Will Be Okay (feat. Kehlani)” from When It’s Dark Out. The song starts with the sounds of a pen scribbling, a clock ticking, and a muffled intro saying “all the money in the world, I can’t find where they selling time.” From 15 seconds in, it’s clear this song came from the heart. It’s a letter to lost loved ones, and a reflection that life sometimes moves too quickly. The song calls back to “Opportunity Cost” with the lyric “only a dream til it happens to you” when discussing his rise to fame. I couldn’t stop listening to this when it came out; the concept, lyrics, and production legitimately slap you in the face.
On another note, G-Eazy probably didn’t sing a note in his life until he dropped his Everything’s Strange Here project in 2020. Despite the negative reviews this album received, G tried out his signing voice again in TTH2. You might be curious why he sang so much on “I, Me, Myself” and “Wicked Game (feat. Devon Baldwin).” I was too. I’m not gonna say I hate his singing voice, but I’m not gonna say it doesn’t sound like the voice of a pack-a-day-smoker. Also, back to Wicked Game… G’s worked with Devon Baldwin since he was in college (see “Acting Up ft. Devon” on SoundCloud). I thought this was going to be the best song on the album. How could they not put something better than this together? Sorry just had to vent.
Everybody who skipped down to see the end: start here.
Best song for:
Conceiving a Child - Faithful (feat. Marc E Bassy)
Aux at the Pregame - Origami
Sitting Quietly and Contemplating Life - Running Wild (Tumblr Girls 2) (feat. Kossisko)
Overall, the project does justice to the original These Things Happen album. The bar was incredibly high, but G-Eazy stayed true to the same vibe. While the vibe stayed the same, it’s clear Gerald’s changed since TTH, and this is a cool concept. The idea of changing but staying the same hits home for a lot of people.
I remember sitting in my high school bedroom blasting These Things Happen at a time when my only concerns were tomorrow’s soccer game and the girls I was snapchatting. I’m still me, I just grew up. And that’s what These Things Happen Too represents for G-Eazy.
