When a song titled "Pennywise" - a reference to Stephen King's horror novel, It, and its blockbuster film - drops two days before Hallow's Eve, you expect and hope that it will be hella spooky. Unfortunately, B.o.B. did not come through with the spookiest of bangers, but a banger nonetheless. The most haunting element of his new track might just be the sample of a male soprano singer, whose vocals are chopped in a way that makes it seem like he's gasping for air. The sample is arranged to resemble a violin over which B.o.B. steadily delivers punchlines.
His flow is too slow for the corniness of some of these lines to go undetected. The song didn't derive its title from the fact that it sounds particularly scary, but from the North Carolina rapper attempting an underwhelming pun. "Pennywise" refers to how his "pen is wise." However, sometimes they are the right amount of playful to get a pass, such as when he says, "An 'O' everyday put the rest of the vowels aside."
Quotable Lyrics
Kill a bottle of gin, ginacide (genocide)
They say he flopped, keep that pesticide (pest aside)
That .357 what I rest beside
Blow a little smoke, keep the rest aside
