This is the brand new collaborative album between California producer, emcee & singer/songwriter Hit-Boy & his father Big Hit. Coming up as a Polow da Don protege signing to his Interscope Records imprint Zone 4 Records with early production credits ranging from “Stronger” by Mary J. Blige to “Drop the World” by Lil Wayne & Eminem, it wasn’t until the winter following the last 2 jams where Hit-Boy would catch the attention of Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West by producing his Christmas posse cut “Christmas in Harlem” & becoming an in-house producer for G.O.O.D. Music for 2 years approximately 5 months after that. It was there that he would cookup some notable bops such as “N****s in Paris” by The Throne as well as “Cold” by Ye & even “Backseat Freestyle” off Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album albeit major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d. City. He then launched his now defunct Interscope imprint HS87 Music as his tenure under Kanye’s wing was coming to a close, continuing to build a reputation for himself by working with the likes of Beyoncé or Drake & Travis Scott for the remainder of the decade. But it’s no secret that these past few years have easily been amongst Hit-Boy’s most prolific yet considering his recent work with Big Sean, Benny the Butcher & more specifically Nas. But after demonstrating his talents on the mic this past spring by dropping his full-length debut Surf or Drown is through his newly founded EMPIRE Distribution imprint Surf Club Inc., it’s only right to celebrate Big Hit’s release from prison by dropping a sequel on Father’s Day Weekend.
The sequel to “Grindin’ My Whole Life” is an uncanny trap opener with co-production from Rogét Chahayed reminding that g’s don’t cry whereas Y.K.W.S.F. (You Know What’s So Funny?)” featuring Big Sean works in these horn sections & hi-hats calling out those who think they stressed out when they stretched out in reality. “Sunrise” pushes forwards as a warm Hit-Boy solo cut talking about seeing everything coming from the top floor leading into “Monte Carlo” pairs Big Hit with [Half-a-Mil] going for a more sample-based sound declaring to be the hosts for the evening.
“Reckless & Ratchet” gives off a vintage west coast groove to the beat so they can talk about just wanting to fuck prior to “Show Me” delves future into that with a groovy ballad dedicated to all the freaks out there. The 4th installment of the “Tony Fontana” series fuses jazz rap with trap & these g-funk synthesizers discussing their Scarface inspired lifestyle while the song “Police” weaves some organs into the fold talking about he should’ve been a cop to be above the law with a license to kill. The piano trap driven penultimate track “Wake Your Game Up” apologizes to all the women they’ve disrespected & “More 4 Me” is a boom bap flavored sendoff to the album as they talk about wanting more.
Surf or Drown is still a solid debut showcasing of Hit-Boy’s abilities on the microphone, but for him to do the sequel with Big Hit fresh out of the pen as a Father’s Day gift alongside paying homage to all the solid ones out there is truly inspiring to me. The natural father/son chemistry throughout is entertaining as Big Hit’s pen-game is on par with Hit-Boy’s as the latter continues to draw rom all sorts of different sounds on the production end.
Score: 3.5/5
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