I'm not going to say Pitchfork isn't credible. I've said it is multiple times and I'm not going to look like a hypocrite and change my mind right now. In fact, I've said that Pitchfork is the most reputable review source. I loved when they gave My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a 10 because it felt like it earned it.
That being said, I can safely say that I do not feel this review is being objective at all. In fact, I feel that it's being quite subjective and that the score reflects the reviewer's biased opinion on Donald.
I sort of expected a bad review, since his mixtapes weren't generating much hype on that website. I remember wondering why his EP hadn't been reviewed. I thought it might have to do with it being an online release, but most of Odd Future's stuff and The Weeknd's stuff was reviewed and it was released online. At this point in December, I just assumed Pitchfork wasn't going to review it. And while I expected a 5 or 6 if they didn't like it, a 1.6 is simply insulting. It says that the album has zero merit.
The reviewer doesn't seem to understand Donald's predicament upfront. He criticizes him for saying the he was only black kid at a Sufjan Stevens concert and responds by saying that Jay-Z and Beyonce were spotted at a Beach House concert. I don't believe the comparison is fair at all. Donald's predicament refers to his childhood and how the possibility of a black nerd seemed impossible. Look at his stand up where he talks about black nerds. What Donald is saying, and what the reviewer fails to understand, is there is a certain standard on how black people are supposed to act. The reviewer mentions how not every black kid is expected to act like 50 Cent. Well, I'm sure growing up in the ghettos of Atlanta, that much is very expected. There are certain expectations that were a lot more relevant 10 years ago when Donald was in high school, Kanye still hadn't come out with an album, and rap mostly consisted of mainstream gangster rap. Donald is allowed to rap about how he didn't exactly fit into that mold. He does so and does so well.
I agree with pitchfork a large majority of the time. That being said, I don't understand their consistent praise for Drake as the next Marvin Gaye. I also think that this review serves more as a personal attack to Donald than a truly objective review.