We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up

We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up is the fourth studio album by American rapper Bas. It was released on December 15, 2023, by Dreamville Records and Interscope Records.^[1] The album features guest appearances from Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, ASAP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha, with production handled by a variety of producers, including J. Cole, FKJ, Boi-1da, CuBeatz, Galimatias and Kel-P, among others.^[2]

We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up
Studio album by Bas
Released	December 15, 2023
Length	51:48
Label	Dreamville Interscope
Producer	48th St AzizTheShake Boi-1da Canei Finch Cedric Brown Charlie Miles Christo Coleman CuBeatz Deputy DZL FKJ Gage Brown Galimatias Groove Herc Cut The Lights Hether J. Lloyd Joe Harrison Kel-P KQuick Kujibeats Kurzweil Linden Jay Luca Mauti Lydia Kitto mOma+Guy Park Ave. Ron Gilmore Sensei Bueno Steve Bilodeau Swam Tee-WaTT T-Minus
Bas chronology
[BUMP] Pick Me Up (2022) We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up (2023)
Singles from We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up
"Diamonds" Released: January 24, 2023 "Passport Bros" Released: July 19, 2023 "Ho Chi Minh" Released: August 19, 2023 "Khartoum" Released: October 24, 2023 "179 Deli" Released: November 28, 2023

The album was supported by five official singles: "Diamonds", "Passport Bros" with J. Cole, "Ho Chi Minh", "Khartoum" with Adekunle Gold, and "179 Deli" with AJ Tracey.

Release and promotion

Bas first announced the album on January 31, 2023, following the release of the album's lead single "Diamonds", via Twitter, posting a promotional cover art with the caption, "4th album".^[3] Bas continued to tease the album throughout 2023 until officially announcing it further after the release of "Passport Bros".^[4]

The album was officially announced on December 5, 2023, after Bas had taken to his Instagram to post the official tracklist and release date.^[5] The tracklist previewed features from Adekunle Gold, AJ Tracey, Amaarae, ASAP Ferg, Blxckie, FKJ, J. Cole and Sha Sha.^[6]

Bas announced the "We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up Tour" in support the album in January 2024, set to run from March 2024 to July 2024.^[7][8] In April 2024, he announced that the European leg of the tour had been postponed in order to tend to his ailing mother.^[9]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Diamonds" was released on January 24, 2023, with an accompanying music video.^[10] The album's second single "Passport Bros" with J. Cole was released six months later on July 19, 2023,^[4] with its official music video being released just hours after.^[11] The album's third single "Ho Chi Minh" was released on August 19, 2023, alongside the official music video.^[12] The title of the song plays homage to Ho Chi Minh, a former president of North Vietnam.^[12] The album's fourth single, "Khartoum" with Adekunle Gold was released on October 24, 2023.^[13] The music video was also filmed in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.^[13] The album's fifth and final single, "179 Deli" with UK rapper AJ Tracey was released on November 28, 2023.^[14][15][16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
HipHopDX	3.1/5[17]
Pitchfork	6.3/10[18]

Pitchfork's Dylan Green felt that the album has "more R&B melodies and heartfelt vulnerability than ever" and wrote that Bas "sounds most comfortable and self-assured when rapping next to Cole", but concluded that "as a solo artist, he winds up doing the one thing he feared most: spreading himself too thin".^[18] Alec Siegel of HipHopDX wrote that "aside from flashes of retrospection and insight, the album rarely delves too deep into the 'real shit.'"^[17]

Track listing

We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Light of My Soul"	Abbas Hamad Scotty Coleman Matthew Samuels Linden Jay Lydia Kitto Brian Holland Eddie Holland Lamont Dozier Egbal Nasr	Coleman Boi-1da Linden Jay Lydia Kitto	3:37
2.	"Black Jedi"	Hamad Michael Holmes Benjamin Tolbert Gabriel Rene	DZL Groove	3:26
3.	"Choppas"	Hamad Canei Finch John Welch III Holmes Vincent Fenton B. Holland E. Holland Dozier	Canei Finch Christo DZL FKJ	3:18
4.	"Home Alone" (with J. Cole)	Hamad Jermaine Lamarr Cole Kevin Gomringer Tim Gomringer Tyler Williams	CuBeatz Steve Bilodeau T-Minus	3:30
5.	"Risk" (with FKJ)	Hamad Fenton	FKJ	4:00
6.	"Decent" (with Amaarae)	Hamad Ama Genfi Holmes Fenton Jay Kurzweil Ronald Gilmore	DZL FKJ Kurzweil Ron Gilmore	2:57
7.	"Ho Chi Minh"	Hamad Udoma Amba	Kel-P	2:04
8.	"179 Deli" (with AJ Tracey)	Hamad Ché Grant Jamil Pierre Gage Brown Josh Lloyd-Watson Kitto	Deputy Gage Brown J. Lloyd Lydia Kitto	3:02
9.	"Passport Bros" (with J. Cole)	Hamad Cole Abdul Dieng Holmes Luke Mauti	AzizTheShake DZL Luca Mauti	2:45
10.	"Testify" (with Sha Sha)	Hamad Charmaine Mapimbiro Charlie Miles Isaiah Zuza Mohamed Hamad Amanpreet Sahota	Charlie Miles Herc Cut The Lights mOma+Guy	2:34
11.	"U-Turn" (with ASAP Ferg and Blxckie)	Hamad Darold Ferguson Jr. Sihle Sithole M. Hamad Sahota	mOma+Guy	3:15
12.	"Paper Cuts" (with J. Cole)	Hamad Cole Zachary Webster Voshon Vernon Terry Watson Kitto Jane Duboc Vaquer Gay Vaquer	48th St Park Ave. Tee-WaTT	3:53
13.	"Diamonds"	Hamad Paul Castelluzzo Joe Harrison Linden Berelowitz Kitto	Hether Joe Harrison Linden Jay	3:31
14.	"Yao Ming"	Hamad Harrison Berelowitz Kitto	Joe Harrison Linden Jay Lydia Kitto	2:37
15.	"Dr. O'blivion"	Hamad Cole Matias Køedt	J. Cole Galimatias	2:10
16.	"Khartoum" (with Adekunle Gold)	Hamad Adekunle Kosoko Cedric Brown Amba Kaleb Rollins Ofer Ishai Jarrett Goodly Roman Mironchenko	Cedric Brown Kel-P KQuick Kujibeats Sensei Bueno Swam	2:23
17.	"Wait on Me" (with FKJ)	Hamad Fenton	FKJ	2:46
Total length:				51:48

References

1. Espinoza, Joshua (December 15, 2023). "Bas Unleashes 'We Only Talk About Real Sh*t When We're F*cked Up' Album f/ J. Cole". Complex. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
2. Grant, Shaun (December 15, 2023). "Bas Drops Globally-Inspired Album We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up". The Source. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
3. Sadler, Armon (January 31, 2023). "Bas Reveals Upcoming Album Title, 'We Only Talk About Real Sh*t When We're F**ked Up'". Vibe. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
4. Ellington, Andre (July 16, 2023). "J. Cole & Bas Get Ready to Take a Trip as They Tease 'Passport Bros' Collab". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
5. Grant, Shaun (December 7, 2023). "Bas to Release His New Album on Dec. 15, J. Cole & Ferg Featured". The Source. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
6. Trapp, Malcom (December 5, 2023). "Bas reveals tracklist for 'We Only Talk About Real S**t When We're F**ked Up'". Revolt TV. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
7. Grant, Shawn (2024-01-17). "Bas Announces 2024 North America Tour in Support of New Album". The Source. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
8. Elibert, Mark. "J. Cole Joins Bas at NYC Show Following Kendrick Lamar Diss Apology". Complex. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
9. Schube, Will (2024-04-12). "Bas Postpones Tour Dates Due To Mother's Health: 'Please Keep Her In Your Prayers'". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
10. Callas, Brad. "Bas Drops New Single and Video "Diamonds"". Complex. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
11. Powell, Jon (July 17, 2023). "J. Cole joins Bas in "Passport Bros" visual". Revolt TV. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
12. Williams, Aaron (August 30, 2023). "Bas Chases The High In His Reflective 'Ho Chi Minh' Video". Uproxx. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
13. Conteh, Mankaprr (October 25, 2023). "Bas Chronicles Life in War-Torn Sudan in New Video 'Khartoum'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
14. Horvath, Zachary (November 28, 2023). "Bas And AJ Tracey Drop A Vibey Track With "179 Deli"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
15. Powell, Jon (November 30, 2023). "Bas teams up with AJ Tracey for "179 Deli" single". Revolt TV. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
16. "Bas Drops Jersey Club Banger "179 Deli" Featuring AJ Tracey". GRM Daily. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
17. Siegel, Alec (2024-01-04). "Bas Opens Up On 'We Only Talk About Real Sh-t When We're F-cked Up' — But Not Completely". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
18. Green, Dylan (December 20, 2023). "Bas: We Only Talk About Real Shit When We're Fucked Up Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 21, 2023.