Give or Take

Give or Take, which serves as the follow-up to Giveon's extended plays Take Time (2020) and When It's All Said and Done (2020), is Giveon's first full-length project, released after two years in the making.{{Cite news |last=Blanchet |first=Brenton |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Giveon Is Ready to Wake You Up |work=Spin |url=https://www.spin.com/2022/06/giveon-give-or-take-interview/ |access-date=July 11, 2022}} The album explores themes such as fame, love, and heartbreak. The album is structured in the form of a series of discussions between Giveon and his mother, with dialogue interspersed between some of the album's tracks. "The album concept is just me having a conversation with my mom", Giveon explained in an interview. "I am finally expressing to her everything I've been through for the last 18 to 24 months. As if I'm reading right out of a diary, I told her that I want to have a conversation. I just wanted it to be her and myself", he gave as the reason as to why he chose to omit guest features from the album.{{Cite news |last=Peay |first=Malik |date=June 27, 2022 |title=Giveon's Debut Album Give or Take Is a Promise to Never Give Up on Love |work=Grammy Awards |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/giveon-debut-album-give-or-take-is-a-promise-to-never-give-up-on-love |access-date=July 11, 2022}}

The album was preceded by the singles "For Tonight"{{Cite news |last=Regina |first=Ayana |date=September 24, 2021 |title=Givēon Doesn't Want to Let Go "For Tonight" |work=SoulBounce |url=https://www.soulbounce.com/2021/09/giveon-doesnt-want-to-let-go-for-tonight/ |access-date=June 24, 2022}} and "Lie Again",{{Cite news |last=Mier |first=Tomás |date=April 29, 2022 |title=Giveon Tries to Ignore Red Flags in Beautifully Painful Ballad "Lie Again" |work=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/giveon-lie-again-song-video-1344670/ |access-date=June 24, 2022}} released September 24, 2021, and April 29, 2022, respectively, and with accompanying music videos released the same days. Third single "Lost Me" was released the same day as the album along with a music video.{{Cite news |last=Pointer |first=Ashley |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Givēon, "Lost Me" |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/now-playing/2022/06/24/1107311039/giv-on-lost-me |access-date=July 23, 2022}}

{{Music ratings

| title = Give or Take ratings

| MC = 72/100{{Cite news |title=Give or Take by Giveon Reviews and Tracks |work=Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/give-or-take/giveon |access-date=July 11, 2022}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite news |last=Kellman |first=Andy |title=Giveon - Give or Take |work=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/give-or-take-mw0003730915 |access-date=July 11, 2022}}

| rev2 = The Line of Best Fit

| rev2score = 8/10{{Cite news |last=Herring |first=Josh |date=June 24, 2022 |title=Give or Take sees Giveon mature from toxic heartthrob to responsible lover |work=The Line of Best Fit |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/giveon-give-or-take-album-review |access-date=July 11, 2022}}

| rev3 = Pitchfork

| rev3score = 6.0/10{{Cite news |last=Paige |first=DeAsia |date=July 5, 2022 |title=Giveon: Give or Take Album Review |work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/giveon-give-or-take/ |access-date=July 11, 2022}}

}}

{{Metacritic album prose|Give or Take|positive|72|6}} The Line of Best Fit{{'}}s Josh Herring wrote that "the soothing nature of production is well complemented by beautiful baritone and reminiscent of an earlier form of R&B and soul music, one that is absent of traces of pop that riddles the genre contemporarily" and that "If you're looking for an authentic, soulful experience, then this is the album for you." The singles "For Tonight" and "Lie Again" are "stealing the show" and it "feels the album was geared to build up towards the higher-flying vocals of the lead singles and wind down into the latter half of the album" with an impressive vocal range on display. The album's "sonic range" is "limited", but "can still be a captivating experience – meaning, it doesn't necessarily have 'bangers',{{efn|name=fn1|{{Wiktionary-inline|banger|bangers}} (see English language definition #6)}} though that isn't to say this isn't a valuable listening experience."

Pitchfork{{'}}s DeAsia Paige wrote that the album faced a similar issue to Giveon's 2020 cover of D'Angelo's consummate "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" which "has all the spiritual vigor of a partner who sends you a lengthy good morning text every day; it's just not that stimulating." The album's "expansive ballads seek to scale the highs and lows of love and heartbreak" but "Giveon more often sounds like he's cruising on autopilot in the center lane." Giveon "cautioned fans to keep a box of tissues nearby" in case they cried during their listening experience, but this is "not necessary". The album "paints a very familiar story of a hopeless romantic who's searching to understand their flaws and solve their relationship woes in the throes of newfound fame", but there's "no shortage of this narrative in contemporary R&B". Compared to rum.gold's Thicker Than Water and Lucky Daye's Painted, on which "the challenge of being a self-aware lover is illuminated with a lush variety of soul-baring vocal arrangements that would make love's most dedicated critics become open to understanding the possibilities of healthy romance", "Giveon's narrative doesn't land." Paige closes by noting that Take Time-era Giveon "experimented with melody and challenged himself vocally" while on Give or Take he "stunts that growth in favor of secluding himself in his comfort zone."

{{Track listing

| headline = Give or Take track listing

| all_writing = Giveon Evans, with other writers noted

| extra_column = Producers

| title1 = Let Me Go

| writer1 = {{hlist|Jason Casanova|Ronald LaTour}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Cardo Got Wings|Eyes}}

| length1 = 2:57

| title2 = Scarred

| writer2 = {{hlist|Don Mills|Matthew Jehu Samuels}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Mills|Boi-1da}}

| length2 = 2:58

| title3 = Dec 11th

| writer3 = Jordan Evans

| extra3 = Evans

| length3 = 1:13

| title4 = This Will Do

| writer4 = {{hlist|Carlos Martin|Greyyforever|Marcus Semaj}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Giveon|Greyyforever|Semaj}}

| length4 = 2:55

| title5 = Get to You

| writer5 = Mills

| extra5 = {{hlist|Mills|Giveon|Semaj}}

| length5 = 3:26

| title6 = Tryna Be

| writer6 = {{hlist|Braxton Cook|Douglas Ford|Enrique Sanchez|Jahaan Sweet}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Cook|Sanchez|Sweet}}

| length6 = 2:51

| title7 = Make You Mine

| writer7 = {{hlist|Semaj|Rogét Chahayed|Sevn Thomas}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|Chahayed|Thomas}}

| length7 = 3:20

| title8 = July 16th

| writer8 = {{hlist|Caleb Bryant|Cameron Joseph}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|C. Bryant|Joseph}}

| length8 = 1:51

| title9 = For Tonight

| writer9 = {{hlist|Akeel Henry|Sweet|Leon Thomas|Semaj|Peter Lee Johnson|S. Thomas|Tony Dixon}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|Akeel Henry|Sweet|S. Thomas}}

| length9 = 3:12

| title10 = Lost Me

| writer10 = {{hlist|Dominik Patrzek|Semaj|Ozan Yildirim|Ryan Vojtesak|S. Thomas}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|Charlie Handsome|Deats|Oz|S. Thomas}}

| length10 = 3:01

| title11 = Lie Again

| writer11 = {{hlist|Mills|Simon Gebrelul}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Mills|Giveon}}

| length11 = 3:02

| title12 = Another Heartbreak

| writer12 = {{hlist|Brooks Ivory Leonard|Sweet|L. Thomas|Schyler O'Neal}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Brooks Ivory|Sweet|L. Thomas|O'Neal}}

| length12 = 4:09

| title13 = At Least We Tried

| writer13 = {{hlist|Britten Newbill|Trey Campbell}}

| extra13 = Newbill

| length13 = 3:33

| title14 = Remind Me

| writer14 = {{hlist|Carter Lang|Sweet|Yildirim|Campbell}}

| extra14 = {{hlist|Lang|Sweet|Oz}}

| length14 = 3:24

| title15 = Unholy Matrimony

| writer15 = {{hlist|Allen Ritter|Mills|Samuels|Tim Suby|Tyler Bryant}}

| extra15 = {{hlist|Allen Ritter|Boi-1da|Mills|Tim Suby}}

| length15 = 3:20

| total_length = 45:12

}}

• Giveon – vocals
• Brian Cruz – recording engineer
• Rodrigo Barahona – recording engineer (1, 2, 10–12)
• Andrew Schwartz – recording engineer (4)
• Sam Valentine Zuckerman – recording engineer (5, 6, 8)
• Robert N. Johnson – assistant engineer (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12)
• Syd Tagle – assistant engineer (3, 7, 13, 14)
• Ian Rene – assistant engineer (6, 10)
• Jonathan Lopez Garcia – assistant engineer (6, 9)
• Brodie Means – assistant engineer (10)
• Josh Seller – assistant engineer (12)
• John Kercy – mixing engineer
• Colin Leonard – mastering engineer (1–5, 7–15)
• Leon Thomas III – miscellaneous production (1, 2, 5, 8–11)
• Nils – miscellaneous production (2, 5, 10, 11), programming (5, 10)
• Peter Lee Johnson – miscellaneous production (9), programming (2, 4, 5, 12)
• Trisha Cruzada – programming (5, 14)
• Ayanna – programming (12)
• Syd – programming (12)
• Victor – programming (12)

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Give or Take}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Giveon|title=Give or Take|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2022|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=January 27, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Giveon}}

Category:2022 debut albums

Category:Giveon albums

Category:Epic Records albums

Category:Contemporary R&B albums by American artists

Category:Soul albums by American artists