Theophilus London
Theophilus London is an MC and singer from Brooklyn, New York,
whose genre-bending approach draws from a range of styles, from
soul-pop and new wave to electro and contemporary R&B. Citing
influences that include Michael Jackson and Prince as well as
Kraftwerk and the Smiths, he began working with the New York
City-based Normrex label in 2007. He made his label debut with a
couple mixtapes, Jam! (2008) and This Charming Mixtape (2009),
which circulated freely in the music blogosphere. London signed to
Reprise/Warner Bros. and made his first move there with the Lovers
Holiday EP in early 2011. The follow-up album, Timez Are Weird
These Days, appeared later in the year and peaked at number 30 on
the Billboard R&B Albums chart. Vibes, his second album, was
executive-produced by Kanye West and released in 2014. ~ Jason
Birchmeier Similar artists
Albums
17
albums sorted by Most acclaimed
$14.99
$12.99
Alternative & Indie - Released October 24, 2014 | Warner Bros.
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Qobuzissime
Theophilus London has to be doing something right to have Kanye West as his executive producer, soul legend Leon Ware as creative co-producer, and the Force M.D.'s, Devonte Hynes, and Jesse Boykins III as guest collaborators. Additionally, Karl Lagerfeld serves as art director and photographer for Vibes!, London's second proper album. Timez Are Weird These Days, the artist's debut housed in a Ware-emulating cover, lacked focus and was mostly surface with little depth. This offers measurable improvements across the board. Even when London muddles quasi-philosophical gibberish and pro-fellatio sentiments on "Water Me," the hooks and basslines dig deeper. It's more creative, too: "Neu Law" cleverly overhauls a decade-old droning synth-pop vignette by John Maus and is enhanced by Miri Ben-Ari's gently cutting strings. London continues to craft frivolous tunes about playboy escapades. On "Do Girls," where he performs his version of orientation conversion therapy on a woman, he cannonballs into a wading pool of inanity. Well above that, there's the bopping "Need Somebody," powered by help from Ware and the Force M.D.'s, and a chorus that oddly recalls that of Eric Burdon & War's "Spill the Wine." It casually lays waste to everything on Timez. The best bid for commercial radio play, however, is "Can't Stop," an adroit production from Club Cheval, Brodinski, and 88 Keys that features West in top lewd form. Best of all is the finale, "Figure It Out," produced by Ware. Hynes and the Force M.D.'s also join in to make it one of the year's finest slow jams, akin to an update of a top Ware ballad (like "Rockin' You Eternally" or "Words of Love") with sinewy low end. ~ Andy Kellman
$10.49
Alternative & Indie - Released May 16, 2011 | Reprise
Distinctions
Sélection Les Inrocks
One of the mixtapes from this Brooklyn MC/singer, I Want You, featured a title track that took almost as many liberties with Marvin Gaye as a Hennessy ad campaign. Here, with his debut for Reprise, Theophilus London playfully swipes imagery from the man who wrote “I Want You,” Leon Ware; the cover of Timez Are Weird These Days mirrors that of Ware’s self-titled album from 1982, just as his other releases referenced older album covers. It indicates that Timez might not be that much different from those releases, rather than the crossover-aiming overhaul one might expect from major-label involvement. Sure enough, Timez is no shake-up, rooted in impish party-soundtrack material with the durability and lasting value of a red plastic cup. While this is the most concentrated and focused London release, boasting a relatively tight set of productions from John Hill (Santigold, Amanda Blank), Jocko (Robyn), Foreign Born's Ariel Rechtshaid (We Are Scientists), and TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, most of the tracks have the same fleeting effect provided by the mixtape material. On the surface, the album is pleasurable, largely upbeat, and bouncy -- a rock-rap hybrid inspired by the pop appeal of new wave, occasionally sweetened with flashes of early-‘80s funk. However, London's sluggish flow and hollow songwriting shows through with increased exposure, most evident in “Girls Girls $,” one of the album’s emphasis tracks. It’s as sturdily constructed as an unfinished N.E.R.D. outtake, rudimentary if overstuffed electro-rock with “She got drunk, showed her p*ssy on World Star” recited a mind-numbing 15 times -- 16 if you count the random robot. London is far more charming when he's given some space and sings, as he does very sweetly in the chorus of "Why Even Try," featuring Tegan & Sara's Sara Quin. Those moments are scant. ~ Andy Kellman
$1.49
Alternative & Indie - Released January 30, 2019 | independently popular.
Dance - Released December 14, 2012 | bitclap - WM Germany
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Alternative & Indie - Released October 31, 2018 | independently popular.
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$12.99
Alternative & Indie - Released October 27, 2014 | Warner Bros.
Theophilus London has to be doing something right to have Kanye West as his executive producer, soul legend Leon Ware as creative co-producer, and the Force M.D.'s, Devonte Hynes, and Jesse Boykins III as guest collaborators. Additionally, Karl Lagerfeld serves as art director and photographer for Vibes!, London's second proper album. Timez Are Weird These Days, the artist's debut housed in a Ware-emulating cover, lacked focus and was mostly surface with little depth. This offers measurable improvements across the board. Even when London muddles quasi-philosophical gibberish and pro-fellatio sentiments on "Water Me," the hooks and basslines dig deeper. It's more creative, too: "Neu Law" cleverly overhauls a decade-old droning synth-pop vignette by John Maus and is enhanced by Miri Ben-Ari's gently cutting strings. London continues to craft frivolous tunes about playboy escapades. On "Do Girls," where he performs his version of orientation conversion therapy on a woman, he cannonballs into a wading pool of inanity. Well above that, there's the bopping "Need Somebody," powered by help from Ware and the Force M.D.'s, and a chorus that oddly recalls that of Eric Burdon & War's "Spill the Wine." It casually lays waste to everything on Timez. The best bid for commercial radio play, however, is "Can't Stop," an adroit production from Club Cheval, Brodinski, and 88 Keys that features West in top lewd form. Best of all is the finale, "Figure It Out," produced by Ware. Hynes and the Force M.D.'s also join in to make it one of the year's finest slow jams, akin to an update of a top Ware ballad (like "Rockin' You Eternally" or "Words of Love") with sinewy low end. ~ Andy Kellman
$12.99
Alternative & Indie - Released April 20, 2012 | Reprise
$1.49
Rap/Hip-Hop - Released August 22, 2018 | independently popular.
Pop - Released April 12, 2013 | Warner Bros.
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![Theophilus London Bebey (feat. Giggs) [SN1 Road Mix]](https://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/pc/p9/k04td4jt9p9pc_100.jpg)
$1.49
Rap/Hip-Hop - Released August 22, 2018 | independently popular.
$12.99
Alternative & Indie - Released October 27, 2014 | Warner Bros.
$3.49
Alternative & Indie - Released June 27, 2011 | Reprise
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Alternative & Indie - Released September 2, 2014 | Warner Bros.
Alternative & Indie - Released September 2, 2014 | Warner Bros.
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Alternative & Indie - Released September 9, 2014 | Warner Bros.
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Alternative & Indie - Released September 30, 2014 | Warner Bros.
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