She won’t stop collaborating with dudes beneath her.
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[6.00]
Anthony Easton: Often lovely, but the point the references (what is with the prickly electronics, why does this sound like Adele doing Bond doing Beyonce — is this song about her or about him?) disrupts the process. I am not sure that this is a good move.
[6]
Alfred Soto: One of last year’s loveliest moments, “It Won’t Stop” even endured the presence of Chris Brown. This isn’t at that level, but “It Won’t Stop” took its time too. Injecting considerable yearning and rue into the line “why is my ex boyfriend my next boyfriend,” Streeter makes a deal she knows she’ll lose, Kid Ink’s avowals notwithstanding.
[7]
Crystal Leww: Sevyn Streeter has had two songs now that were really great with just her and dudes were added that did absolutely nothing of value. While “It Won’t Stop” added Chris Fucking Brown, nEXt adds his co-conspirator Kid Ink, who adds an intro, some flat and slightly out of tune harmonies, and a guest verse that literally does nothing for anyone. Meanwhile, Sevyn Streeter continues to straddle the line between old-fashioned and trend-chasing particularly well. The tempo is slow and the harmonies are present, but they neither overwhelms the rest of the track. She doesn’t shy away from emoting either even if she’s not quite the belter that the Braxton sisters or K. Michelle are. This could have been great without the addition, but still, it’s mostly very good.
[6]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: DJ Mustard’s rise to pop glory has come with plenty of anonymous artists savvy enough to pay for a hit: Tyga, B.O.B., Kid Ink. Ink is a listless performer, emblematic of an artistic shift towards cadence and cult signifiers, rather than… y’know, good strong songwriting. He’s Diet Tyga, if you can imagine such a thing, and he appears on “Next” as a gust of air on a hundred degree day – briefly noticeable but unnoticeable. Sevyn, as always, has a great name but boring songs. In the middle of it all, a bluesy guitar curdles out of a melody, the dissonance bringing something briefly interesting to the track.
[4]
Megan Harrington: Riddle me this: if you’ve got the good sense to give Sevyn Streeter a minimalist R&B beat and she’s got the good sense to keep her lyrics similarly sparse, what math justifies the inclusion of Kid Ink? He is just dreadful, though I suppose that’s his role in the song’s narrative. His bookending verse juxtaposes “might say tonight was the last straw/but in the morning I’ll be sipping from your glass jaw” with “never been a pimp or a backhander.” Sure, he won’t hit you, but he knows if he did your face would shatter. If that’s your ex-boyfriend, I don’t know, try Tinder.
[6]
Juana Giaimo: I don’t consider myself too demanding about lyrics, but as if the chorus wasn’t silly enough, hearing lines like “but he loves my face with no make-up” and “never been a pimp or a backhander” — as if those were exceptional and unique manners of his personality– hurt my ears.
[4]
Brad Shoup: I thought no more songwriting juice could be squeezed out of crazy love. Turns out you can drill a hole with guitar and organ. After Streeter wrings the musing of the chorus for all it’s worth and Kid Ink makes his modest appeal, the instruments unstem over and over, giving our kids plenty of time to curl up against the sunset, putting everything out of mind.
[9]