Big Scarr is a 21 year old rapper from Memphis, Tennessee that broke out in 2019 off his debut single “Make a Play”. This would catch the attention of Atlanta trap pioneer Gucci Mane, who signed Scarr to his revived Atlantic Records imprint 1017 Worldwide last year. The kid has gone on to release 6 singles since being taken under Wop’s wing & with the commercial success of Pooh Shiesty’s debut tape Shiesty Season that came out a couple months back, Scarr is next up at bat.
“Grim Reaper” is a to-the-point opener as Scarr hops on some sinister piano melodies & hi-hats to spit about being a murder, but then the next song “Get It In” is a violin-heavy follow-up about being a young legend. “Poppin’” is a doomy ode to his newfound fame whereas the braggadocio-induced “Frozone” goes into a more wintry direction sonically.
The track “Ballin’ in LA” links up with Gucci Mane & Pooh Shiesty to deliver a dark yet infectious dedication to the sunshine state while “Joe Dirt” goes into a more uptempo direction beat-wide as the lyrics detail going from the apartments to the mansion. “SoIcyBoyz3” re-enlists Shiesty & Wop alongside Foogiano to send a warning to their detractors over a glistening Tay Keith instrumental & the Baby K-featured “No Ball” literally has nothing going for it other than the Middle Eastern-inspired production.
Scarr returns to a more darker sound on the track “Don’t Stop” as he raps about beef, but then “IDL” showcases a cool lil chemistry between him & Enchanting as they paint an oxymoronic love story. The woefully produced “Pay Me” details being crossed so many times & on the contrary, “Traphouse” is a stern look-back on his days before rapping.
Meanwhile on “I Would Keep Goin’”, we have have Big Scarr detailing how heartless he is in a petrifying fashion before he & Gucci Mane detail how they live life on the Zaytoven-produced “In Color”. The track “From the Jump” details about his greatness over a plentiful instrumental & the tape ends with the first 2 installments of the “SoIcyBoyz” series. The first one is kinda underwhelming & the 2nd one is much more improved.
Even though I came away from Big Grim Reaper with mixed feelings, I’m still very much looking forward to hearing what Big Scarr has to offer. The overall sound is middle-of-the-road, but I’m not gonna deny the ambition in his voice throughout a good bulk of the tape.
Score: 2.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 