From the first springy beat forward, it’s pretty clear to listeners that Star2’s “Thinkin Bout You” is going to be one of the more intimate ballads of this young player’s exciting career. There’s just no resisting the casual sway of the percussion and, furthermore, the way that Star2 wraps his every verse into the rhythm. Instead of letting the hook set the mood for him, he’s taking charge from the jump in this performance, and making it known to anyone who questioned his performance depth earlier on in his career that he’s got the chops to turn in some really meaningful work.
Star2’s lead vocal is always the main feature in this track, but this isn’t to say that his lyrics are a throwaway. The words come to life in the music video for “Thinkin Bout You” and spotlight a burning desire within this artist that some might have previously mistaken for undue swagger.
Music video for “December” from Star2
He’s still one of the more confident players in his scene at the moment, but this is a song where he isn’t making attitude the centerpiece – here, it’s all about the substance of his statements, the way he’s making them, and where they’re being directed.
Emo has been influencing modern R&B, crossover trap, and even straight hip-hop a lot in the last five years, but there’s something a little more intricate about “Thinkin Bout You” than one would be inclined to hear from the average charged ballad. This is poised personality and an artful expression of soul, and were it not coming from someone who has lived the story he’s trying to tell, it would lack the gut-punching realism that it enjoys as both a single and a music video. Star2 is as hard as they come, but he knows how to get soft when it’s necessary.
