The year 2018 has been kind to hip-hop’s new-age outlaw. The brother of Willow has expanded his presence in fashion (appearing in Louis Vuitton ads), music (releasing SYRE: THE ELECTRIC ALBUM plus numerous collaborations), movies (costarring in Skate Kitchen), and social media musings (tweeting, “If I Had The Right Girl In My Life I Would Be Able To Bend Space Time With My Mind”). On this mixtape, Jaden Smith continues asserting his inner voice (it’s Auto-Tuned, natch) with a mix of styles and moods. “Plastic” goes the hardest, a trap monster able to flatten the most formidable soundsystem. Dreamy turns like “Play This on a Mountain at Sunset” and “Distant” wipe the third eye clean with Smith in his feelings about change and being present. Yet with all the personal-transformation tales, he makes time for affairs of the heart: “Yeah Yeah” pulls off a romantic Afrobeat ballad while “Better Things” is a short rumination on modern love. Throughout The Sunset Tapes, Smith replicates the sound of his soul. Cool Tape Story, bro.