Kaytranada took the Polaris Music Prize and a Juno Award for his 2016 album 99.9% and moved up from XL to RCA. The major-label phase commenced in 2018 with an EP indicating zero-to-minimal interference in his development as a producer working just outside of the mainstream. Apart from one other single in the interim, however, Kaytranada was quiet to an uncharacteristic and somewhat puzzling extent. Not until mid-December 2019 did the true follow-up materialize. Rest assured, it seems he was simply taking his time, not straining for a crossover bid, as Bubba is a natural advancement from 99.9%. Nothing has quite the same level of buoyancy or high spirits as the debut's "Lite Spots," but this shows that Kaytra is even more accommodating for his singing and rapping collaborators and can make a continuous and cohesive set with enough detail and variation to keep a listener anticipating each move. The twisting and snaking basslines, dazed keyboard melodies and accents, and spongy drums are all prevalent, tweaked with enough style and ingenuity to be fresh rather than freeze-dried, integrating dusty hip-hop, deep house, and assorted Caribbean forms with typical ease. Kaytra's beats continue to inspire his generally mild-mannered guests to write about nightlife, flings, and simmering romantic conflict. Kali Uchis deviates from this with a stream of invective on "10%," a colorful, off-center hybrid of disco and funk. Swerving farther away is the sweet-voiced Durand Bernarr, who later provides the open-hearted "Freefall," the LP's butterfly-filled emotional peak (preceded by the dazzling French touch-meets-Detroit beatdown "Scared to Death," the finest of the brief instrumental interludes). Kaytra built his reputation in the early 2010s on remixes of tracks such as Teedra Moses' "Be Your Girl," so it's most appropriate that he and the lioness make a connection on "Culture," a plush highlight that closes out his first full decade in ideal fashion.
- Andy Kellman - allmusic.com
