Lucki – “dr*gs r bad” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki’s highly anticipated 4th LP has finally arrived. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini & the divisively received Daysb4bad* to deliver the main course that the latter preluded.

The “Nuppy” intro opens up the first couple of minutes talking about a woman who he feels like is the right one for him whereas “Picky Demons :)” talks about him not being the fastidious type & shit not being for show with him. “No Stars in Maybachs” featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze finds the trio joining forces to trade verses with each other although I think Veeze was the better guest of the 2 while “Stupid Prizes” cloudily talks about what happens when one plays stupid games.

“Supertune!!” gives off a heavier psychedelic trap vibe instrumentally boasting that he feels like a superhero whenever he pops pills leading into “rookie 2 barbie” talks about how far he’s come since his Lucki Eck$ days over a decade ago back when I was in high school. “AllWay2Space” embraces a pluggier sound thanks to Taurus discussing his eagerness of going to the moon just before the “mdnt series” talks about going on a midnight roll driving around in his Maybach.

Lil Baby appears for “Snake Pit Flow” to describe the feeling they have of being made for this music shit over a LulRose instrumental while “(madness)!” shifts towards a more futuristic trap direction stylistically talking about there being hoes with no voices out here. “a theme atp…” expresses his willingness to have his people call him whenever their day’s been rough while “Keep It 1,000, Plz” talks about his desire to have everyone keep it legitimate when speaking to him.

“Brazy” reached the halfway point of dr*gs r bad with what I’d consider more of a brief freestyle than an interlude while “WAYBetter Dayz” featuring the late Chynna talks about being geeked up so much to the point where today could be his last day alive. “Loyal Snake” keeps the synthesizers coming to ask this woman if she could love him the way he loves her while the Detroit trap-tinged “Roundtripski” encourages someone who went rogue on him to do it again because he fucks with it.

Veeze returns again for the “Twin Flow” sequel “Twin FlowGodfather II”, going back-&-forth with each other to save my favorite guest appearance for last while “Ur a Vet!” talks about being on 3 different diamonds every single day & most being unable to keep up. “Gemini Dramatic” wraps up dr*gs r bad’s final moments describing a relationship where he’s got it out the mud & has a hoe who’s for the streets beside him while the outro “Yesterday On My Face” talks about being unable to trust this person.

“Not So Virgo of You” starts the deluxe run with a cloudy trap 2-parter that I’d say is one of the best songs he’s done this decade & once “I Don’t Care…” featuring the current WWE United States Champion Trick Williams’ manager Lil Yachty teams up for a atmospheric jerk single that I liked more than the other one they did at the beginning of the month, “Diamond Stitching” fuses the Detroit sound & tread so he can talk about his newfound wealth.

The single “Free Mr. Banks” combines trap & plugg to call for Lil Durk’s freedom in addition to remind us all of the code of the streets while “Overth!nking” experiments with vaportrap a bit to vent about his internal struggles including experiences of betrayal. The final bonus track “Tuff Luver” is what truly sends off the album, confessing that he’s been feeling somewhat nervous of becoming a superstar & shrugging it off suggesting maybe that’s the Chiraq in him.

Considering that one of the deluxe cuts stirred up controversy when Lucki dropped it through Steve Stoute’s independent distributor UnitedMasters & it’s competitor EMPIRE filing a lawsuit against Tune, some including myself would have to presume that dr*gs r bad fulfills the Chicago artist’s contract with them & I wish him nothing but the best if that’s in fact the case. However, it’s still an impressive trap/Detroit sound album even if it’s an undeniable improvement above Daysb4bad*.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lucki – “Daysb4bad*” review

Finally getting the 10th extended play from Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki to prelude his upcoming 4th LP. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini to drop Daysb4bad*.

“U Ready!” produced by LulRose begins with Tune talking about playing the game in order to ball & that the shit he does not being for show whereas “Sex Mula / Pete” featuring Lil Yachty fresh off helping Trick Williams become the new WWE United States Champion describes their preference of using weapons instead of fists. After freestyling over the instrumentals originally used for “All for the Love” by Jadakiss & “Made My Hoe Faint” by Future, the closing track “Capo 2x” featuring Kkanii finishes with both of them working smarter & trying to become rich.

Almost Woke & both entries of 2 Faced felt more like singles with an a-side & b-side than actual EPs but nevertheless, Daysb4bad* was a decent taste of what we can expect from what many can assume to be his final EMPIRE Distribution opus dr*gs r bad a couple weeks from now & expect it to be a lot better than what we got here. Excluding both freestyles & the outro, it sounds like he’s getting ready to let the world know how much of a student he is of this shit.

Score: 3/5

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Lucki – “Gemini” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki coming off his birthday from a couple weeks ago to release his 3rd LP. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, so maintained optimism that Gemini would continue to make those improvements.

To start us off, “On They Way” works in synths & hi-hats from Vanguard Music Group & Internet Money Records in-house producer Cxdy to talk about money turning him into a villain whereas “Courtesy Of” takes the luxurious trap route instrumentally boasting that you can’t play it the way he does out here. “CTA 2 Bach” brings a psychedelic flare to the table talking about cash making everything go his way just before the upbeat “All Love” asks why wouldn’t he bring his gun to the function since he don’t like nobody.

Lil Yachty slides through for the Rio Leyva-produced “Biggavel” so he & Lucki Eck$ can discuss undebatably being on a high right now leading into the atmospheric “Gerskiway” featuring CBFW Records artists Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze going back & forth about their lifestyles. “BRAZY4real” continues to shoot for synth-trap vibe generally calling out those who ain’t letting loose as much as they say they do “Exotic” jumps over pianos & hi-hats living like John Gotti.

“BBY GOAT” featuring Future hooks the synthesizers back up talking about both of them being on a new level while “KYLIE!!!” ends the first half of Gemini by bragging that he’s bigger than Kylie Jenner over rage beats, which personally I would have to agree with since I’m more of a fan of Tuneski than Kylie anyway. “Dotted Line” has more of a futuristic trap approach generally in comparison starring the 2nd leg of the LP killing opponents out here & “Signed Up” atmospherically accepting that whatever comes & is.

Veeze pops back up for the lavish trap banger “Twin Flow” for a cut that I happen to find myself catering towards more than “Gerskiway” treating the paper like friends, but Rylo Rodriguez funny enough returns on “3 SMRS STR8” this time joined by CBFW labelmate 42 Dugg to get on some Detroit trap shit. “X6” defends that you can’t complain because they’re the same ones who made him the way he is continuing to build further upon the Motor City’s unique take on trap while “Hustler Muzik” takes aim at Lucki’s critics towards his newer material.

The song “Heavy on My Heart” samples “Do You Really Mean It?” by Jerry Knight thanks to Coupe suggesting Bossy Simpson made shit look simple when everybody knew that shit get hard while “Ski What It Be” throws the synths & hi-hats back in the picture leaving more than he came with. “RIP” has a chill ass beat that Bhristo cooked up leaving it up to the Deadboy to turn a straight-up hoe into pack & the 2-part outro featuring aadditional Veeze vocals officially closes up shop talking about how he ain’t got nobody.

Although I’d have to still say s*x m*ney dr*gs is be my favorite full-length of the 3 that LUCKI has already offered, Gemini for sure happens to be a solid offering from the influential underground Chi-Town artist either way you put it. He still maintains the cloudy trap production that the predecessor last summer except he’s swapping out the Chicago drill influences in favor of pulling from the Detroit trap scene representing the Midwest even further.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lucki – “sx mney dr*gs” review

Lucki is a 27 year old rapper & occasional producer from Chicago, Illinois who began to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim. He would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021 & eventually the full-length debut Flawless Like Me last fall. So when it was announced that the sophomore album was gonna start off the 2nd half of 2023 only 48 hours ago, to say I was anticipating it would be an understatement.

“Tunevert” is a top notch opener produced by YSL Records in-house producer Taurus with it’s twangy trap approach boasting that he bossed up a city girl whereas “No Bap” takes a cloudier route talking about being so geeked up. “Super Ski” works in some synthesizers & hi-hats thanks to Cxdy of Vanguard Music Group & Internet Money Records producer Rio Leyva describing his bitch as slimey that is until “Gemini Love” has more shimmery trap vibe talking about a chick who moves sloppy yet stays in shape.

The plugg beat from Cash Cobain on “2021 Vibes” was unexpected considering his sample drill roots & Lucki flows all over it well dropping lines like “Bentley’s talkin’ to myself, Ghazi said it’s sendin’ help” just before “Mubu” points out that he sealed the deal with a seal in hand over a peppily cloudy trap instrumental, but then “Almighty Tune” blends these vain horns & hi-hats boasting that he has different hoes who by different clothes.

“Str8 Syrup” has a depressing trap vibe to the beat so Luc can pour 4 to make it feel like ecstasy while “Purple Heart Ski” has these psychedelic guitar passages as well as claps & hi-hats telling the world that you can get it like him if you’re patient. “Karma a Bitch” fuses an operatic vocal sample with hi-hats & a booming bass-line admitting that he has to show the way & “Pop Star” is a standout from the futuristically spacious beat.

Veeze serves as the album’s only guest appearance on “Wholeworldslatt” joining forces with Luc to show everyone how slimey they both are & that they fit in while the song “Bby Pluto” is another favorite off the album paying homage to Future with Tay Keith & Cubeatz experimenting with rock guitars & elements of trillwave. The penultimate track “Chrome Denim” is a trap banger with synths & bells talking about still being too geeked & “New York” rounds out the album coming clean that he’s high on drugs in a S 580 as he was recording.

Between the 2 full-length albums under Lucki’s belt thus far, I feel like s*x m*ney dr*gs has to be a tad bit superior compared to the other & the best thing he’s done in a while. He returns to a form a bit as the production expands the style of his that came into it’s final form last fall alongside delivering better performances & keeping it at a reasonable length by including less filler cuts.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lucki – “Flawless Like Me” review

This is the highly anticipated full-length debut from Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday. But after 4 years in the making, Lucki’s finally giving the world Flawless Like Me.

“Made My Day” is a psychedelic yet bassy opener confessing that he’s been looking for this bitch all over Chiraq over whereas “Geeked n Blessed” takes a more triumphant route talking about how he’s feeling exactly. “Kapitol Denim” on the other hand dives into cloudier territory boasting the lifestyle that he lives over a just before “Coincidence” is an airier ballad reconnecting with a significant other.

Meanwhile on “Been a Minute”, we have Lucki over some woozy yet rubbery Tay Keith production advising not to hit up his phone whatsoever leading into Babyface Ray tagging along for the euphoric trap hit “White House” talking about being them dudes. “13” on the other end embraces a wavier sound bragging that he’ll “drop a 50 on that bitch like old Harden”, but then “Archive Celine” has a more uptempo vibe talking about a hoe out in Berlin with the same name.

“How Tf?” weaves some quirky synth leads & hi-hats into the fold opening up on his drug problems while “DNA” spaciously expands on the subject of the last cut, comparing himself to his aunt who also abuses drugs. Cash Cobain’s synthesizers throughout “Goodfellas” have a more chilled out feeling to them talking about having bodies in the trunk while the horn-laced “I Get It, Twin” confessing that he can’t help but love this pricy ass bitch.

Following that, “VVS Keyski” has a more cavernous tone to the instrumental describing the life of a rockstar while “Brazy Weekend” calling out a hoe for stalking everyone he’s around on top of a mystic trap beat from Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic. “Droughtski” however returns to a more mind-altering sound with the help of Bugz Ronin talking about being rich off stubbornness while the synth-based “Life Mocks Art” confesses that he raps what he lives.

“Noticed Ya” acknowledges that this person doesn’t want to change as much as he does on top of a glossy trap instrumental with the vibrant “10pm in London” calling out a gold digger for not actually loving him & using him for his wealth. “Out of Lve” has to be my least favorite cut on the album with it’s underwritten lyricism despite the synth-based beat & “On Point” basically suffers from the same problems even though the production here is more high-spirited.

The penultimate track “Free Sex!” throws some organs into the mix courtesy of Toom from Vanguard Music Group talking about being fucked up off ecstasy & lean whilst paying tribute to Atlanta trap trailblazer Young Thug while “My Way / Codeine Cowboy” starts off with an otherworldly banger of a 2-parter Clayco helped put together being on space time & then going on to discuss codeine usage yet again. The first bonus cut “Super Urus” is a solid trap/cloud rap hybrid admitting that he misses some hoe & the other “Y Not?” officially sends off the album with some plugg undertones talking about getting it out the mud.

Although I’d have to say Watch My Back & Freewave 3 are still my favorite projects from Lucki but nonetheless, Flawless Like Me still serves as a great full-length debut for Lucki & one that fans whether you’ve been with him since 2013 or now would both enjoy. I think the production is more varied than F1LTHY’s was as much as I enjoyed Wake Up Lucki last winter on top of some animated performances from the man himself. Curious to hear 2Neptune&Back whenever the time comes.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lucki – “Wake Up Lucki” review

Lucki is a 25 year old rapper & producer from Chicago, Illinois who started to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim. This was followed up with 5 more tapes & a dozen EPs but after finishing his tour promoting his 7th mixtape over here, he’s enlisting F1LTHY of Working on Dying to produce the whole thing from front to back which is very intriguing given that he was responsible for a couple of my favorite cuts off Playboi Carti’s sophomore album Whole Lotta Red last Christmas like “M3tamorphosis” & “New Tank”.

“USED 2 B” is a dope, electronic/trap-tinged opener saying he knows who really loves him whereas “NEPTUNE VS. INDUSTRY” follows it up with an underwritten cut about being geeked despite it’s glistening production. “STILL MISS YA” works in some synthesizers to pondering why this bitch would trust him even though it could’ve been more fleshed out, but then “U.G.K.” talks about how he was just racin’ & I really dig the psychedelic feeling of the production.

Meanwhile on “2019”, we have Lucki on top of a pleasantly cloudy trap instrumental telling his lover how much he needs her just before “WHERE I BE” does a good job at spaciously detailing his Roxy suite calling him. “NEEDED” lyrically details how “It’s not good I need it, but I said it cause it’s true” with a beat that’s danceable as fuck leading into “CRYOUT” talking about being in the mixer & the atmosphere of it is really nice.

“SPARKS VISION” has one of the weaker instrumentals on the tape telling this bitch he’s giving her heart away while the song “BUSY DAY” is a spacey storytelling banger of why he missed his girl’s calls & messages all day. The penultimate track “LOVE IS WAR” is a decent attempt at going emo rap & “OUTRO” finishes the tape well by talking about how high he got with a perfectly chilled out beat.

In my personal opinion, this is one of my favorite Lucki projects yet & hopefully this is the last precursor to his full-length debut Flawless Like Me whenever that drops (fingers crossed next year). It’s a completely different sound than his previous efforts & his knack for catchy songwriting stays in effect for a good portion of it.

Score: 4/5