Polo G is a 22 year old rapper, singer, songwriter & record executive from Chicago, Illinois rising to prominence a couple years ago off his debut album Die a Legend. I personally found it to be decent as a whole, but heard major improvements on the sophomore effort The GOAT last spring. And now with another year going by, Polo is coming through with his highly anticipated 3rd album.
“Painting Pictures” starts the album off as an endearing homage to Lil Wooski whereas the Einer Bankz-produced “Rapstar” works in a ukulele as Polo talks about his newfound fame. Lil Durk tags along to help say they ain’t ever going back to being broke on the weepy “No Return” even though The Kid Laroi’s hook is wimpy as fuck but on “Toxic”, the instrumental has a grungier feel to it as he tells his girl he prefers the streets over her.
Meanwhile on “Epidemic”, we get a glistening piano loop with Polo rapping about how he bleeds mob ties before he & Lil Wayne talk about having the game on lock for the euphorically-produced “Gang Gang”. We go into a more atmospheric direction on the braggadocious “Boom” while the twangy “Black Hearted” speaks on disloyalty.
“Broken Guitars” has an ambitious trap rock fusion in the beat despite the horrible Scorey verse near the end while “Give No Fuck (OKOKOK)” is a drill banger detailing life as a gang member. G Herbo goes back & forth with Polo about wishing for a hero on the icy “Go” while the Rod Wave-featured “Heart of a Giant” has a luxurious instrumental with the 2 talk about being big-hearted people.
Moving on from there, “Zooted” is a off-the-top freestyle with a polished beat whereas “Party Lyfe” with DaBaby is a perfect summertime theme. Wheezy comes through with a reversed loop on the Young Thug-assisted “Losses” as both of them remind listeners that they were cut from a different cloth while “So Real” is a country trap joint showing Polo’s vulnerability.
The song “Fame & Riches” with [Roddy Ricch] is an acoustic tune about them living lawless & “For the Love of New York” is a horrendously tropical romance duet with Nicki Minaj. The penultimate track “Clueless” with Fivio Foreign & the late Pop Smoke goes back into drill territory with the lyrics being about staying true to themselves, but then the closer “Bloody Canvas” vividly details a 14 year old named Ced getting involved in criminal activity & getting 25 years in prison.
If anyone isn’t familiar with this dude & is going into it expecting your average run of the mill trap album, guess again because he’s only getting closer & closer to his true potential at this point. The sounds Polo G adventures into are incredibly diverse & lyrically, I feel like he’s at his best.
Score: 3.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 