Metro Boomin’ – “A Futuristic Summa” review

St. Louis producer, DJ & record executive Metro Boomin’ finally dropping off his highly anticipated 2nd mixtape. Gaining notoriety in the middle of the previous decade as one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in hip hop today, he’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s 3rd album D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), Gucci Mane’s 53rd mixtape Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage collab tape Without Warning. It was until after Halloween 2018 when he put out his solo debut Not All Heroes Wear Capes & the 2022 sequel Heroes & Villains continued an ongoing trilogy by elevating his production game. A Futuristic Summa was announced earlier this month & we’re finally getting it weeks since the current 2-time World Heavyweight Champion Gunther retired WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Bill Goldberg at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI followed by former AEW Women’s World Champion Blake Monroe betraying former 3-time TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace & another former TNA Knockouts World Champion Naomi becoming a 3-time WWE women’s world champion by ending イヨ・スカイ’s 2nd reign as a WWE women’s world champion at Evolution II.

“I Want It All” by J Money after the “Black Migo Forever” intro starts with a decent futuristic swag opener talking about his desire for everything nice whereas “They Wanna Have Fun” by Gucci Mane, Quez & Young Dro co-produced by Zaytoven homages the Cyndi Lauper single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with Quez’ verse in the middle being my least favorite of the 3. “Butterflies (Right Now)” by Roscoe Dash & Quavo goes for an Atlanta bass vibe so they can talk about doing the crime & time of killing pussy prior to “Take Me Thru Dere” by Quavo & YK Niece inferiorly continuing the themes of lust.

The colorful “Loose Screws” by Shad da God & Skooly blends pop rap & trap with the help of DK Spinz to discuss losing their mind if the baddies they’re seeing move in with them just before the first of 2 Young Dro solo cuts “Stealin’ All the Swag” cloudily talks about wanting his swagger back. “WTF Goin’” combines these pianos & hi-hats shrugging off the haters because they only add flavor to what he’s doing while “Issa Party” by Jose Guapo, Shad da God & Young Dro warmly talks about wanting hoes to hit their line to rock & move with them.

“Clap” has gotta be the most I’ve enjoyed a Waka Flocka Flame song in a minute putting his politics & that corny publicity stunt where he got “jumped” aside while the danceable “Slide” by Young Dro confesses he hasn’t been able to talk the same since meeting this woman he’s addressing. “My Lil Shit” by BunnaB, J Money & Meany throws it back to the ringtone era of late 2000s southern hip hop while “Still Turnt (Forever B$hot)” by Shad da God talks about still being lit to this very day.

J Money, Quavo & Waka Flocka Flame all link up on the synthesizer-woven “Drip BBQ” showing off their sauce as if they’re at a cookout while “I Go” by J Money holds the fort by himself to show off his wealthy possessions. “Make It Make Sense” by Rocko has a darker trap mood to it talking about shit being illogical if it it ain’t making any money while “I Like That” by Waka Flocka Flame & 2 Chainz despite Honorable C.N.O.T.E. producing it wasn’t too bad of a pop rap track.

“Birthday” by Metro Thuggin’ & Skooly uses a bunch of playful metaphors to speak about sex & confidence while “Don’t Stop Dancin’” by Lil Baby & Skooly talks about loving the way their partners dance. “U Deserve” by T.I. & Young Dro throws it back to Grand Hustle Records’ prime in the mid-late 2000s while “Overly Trimm” by Jose Guapo, Quavo, Shad da God, Skooly, Travis Porter & Young Dro made for a mild posse cut.

Future & 21 Savage deliver A Futuristic Summa’s smoothest moment “Partying & Drinking” talking about women who be acting like they’re single when having fun with their friends while “Jerry Curry (Love & Basketball” by Lil Baby & Yung L.A. references TKO Group Holdings co-founder Vince McMahon. The futuristic swag closer “I Need (Where U From)” by J Money, Lil Baby, Roscoe Dash & 2 Chainz sends off the tape with all 4 of them asking the women they’re dating about their sets.

Taking the aesthetics of early 2010s mainstream Atlanta hip hop & putting some modern touches on it, A Futuristic Summa will feel nostalgic to anyone like me who was in middle school when songs like “Lemonade” or “Hard in da Paint” were dominating the airwaves. Metro Boomin’s production easily sticks out as the best part of the whole thing diverting from trap to experiment with futuristic swag, plugg, Atlanta bass & contemporary R&B. However, the guests’ performances are more hit or miss compared to Heroes & Villains.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Future – “We Still Don’t Trust You” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper & singer/songwriter Future teaming up with Metro Boomin’ once again for his 11th full-length album. Coming up as a member of the Dungeon Family thanks to his cousin Rico Wade of Organized Noize, he officially made his debut in 2012 with Pluto & would later follow it up with a hot streak of modern day trap essentials like Honest, Monster, Beast Mode & my personal favorite of his: D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2). However since 2017, Future has mostly been painting himself in a corner & prioritizing quantity over quality. I mean sure HNDRXX took a more sensual approach & SUPER SLIMEY showed a pretty great chemistry with fellow trap trailblazer Young Thug, but Beast Mode 2 was a step down from the predecessor & he got with Juice WRLD to put out a collab tape that literally should’ve never happened: WRLD on Drugs. Finally at the very beginning of that next year, The WIZRD was passable even though it showed NO artistic evolution whatsoever & Save Me was a decent attempt at being more vulnerable, High Off Life admirably found him staying true to himself in the midst of trying new things & I Never Liked You put the toxicity claims about him to rest. Metro reunited with Future for We Don’t Trust You only 3 weeks ago & that was his best since D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), but We Still Don’t Trust You was said to be the HNDRXX counterpart to Pluto’s previous double album FUTURE HNDRXX & I had no doubts that they were gonna outdo themselves much like they did with We Don’t Trust You being a step above self-titled almost a month back.

The title track featuring The Weeknd providing it’s sole verse is a synthpop opener singing about how much of a freak this bitch is whereas “Drink n Dance” gives me an acoustic trap soul vibe basically basically looking to fuck all night long pretty much. “Out of My Hands” brings a misty trap atmosphere instrumentally to spit about flexing that everyone knows the shit that he be on leading into the futuristic “Jealous” co-produced with Dez Wright & Wheezy singing his heart out that he’s unsure why this woman makes him feel envious.

“This Sunday” melodically promises to buy a new Ferrari by the end of the weekend even though the beat feels vaguely similar to that of “Hallucinating” just before “Luv Bad Bitches” is this alternative R&B ballad about preferring bad bitches over good girls. “Amazing” has to be the weakest moment on the album heavilly building itself around a sample of “Girl After Girl” by Juicy J featuring Gucci Mane & Nicki Minaj although I admittedly respect the concept of it revolving around Future & Metro’s friendship, but then “All to Myself” featuring The Weeknd bounces back with this pop rap/alternative R&B crossover flipping “Let’s Lay Together” by The Isley Brothers with Mike Dean & notably Abel dissing Drake.

The heavy sampling of “Dancin’ On a Pole (MKU)” by the Three 6 Mafia on “Nights Like This” to sing AND rap about needing all of this significant other was a nice touch while “Came to the Party” admits to pullin’ up to the spot only to get flicks continuing to get back in his full-blown trap shit. “Right 4 You” brings the synthpop influences back professing to the love of his life that he’s trying to get Wright for her since he belongs to her while “Mile High Memories” has this cloudy trap soul groove to it courtesy of the So Icey Boyz to talk south of France.

“Overload” is the 2nd worst song on We Still Don’t Trust You presenting itself as a mediocre synth-trap hybrid fulfilling his ego pretty much that is until “Gracious” produced with Taurus picks us up again going for more of a stripped back trap sound singing about the gratitude he feels towards this woman who is faithful of him. “Beat It” clashes hi-hats with these triumphant synth-melodies tellin’ this hoe that she can either ride & stay committed or hit the bricks while “Always Be My Fault” featuring The Weeknd reunites the 2 for the final time for this electropop/synthpop duet about hearing the ones they converse in the dark with in the storm.

Meanwhile on “1 Big Family”, we have Pluto boasting that he has 20 different bitches with them over hi-hats & synthesizers while the acoustic trap flavored “Red Leather” featuring J. Cole finds them both rappin’ about pissin’ on your grave wearing leather specifically in my personal favorite color. After the “#1” intro, “Nobody Knows My Struggle” begins a bonus track run vibrantly letting the title speak for itself while “All My Life” featuring Lil Baby talking about growing up with steppers over this quirky trap instrumental.

“Crossed Out” continues the final moments of We Still Don’t Trust You on some rowdy trap shit looking to cross out anyone who ain’t with the gang while “Crazy Clientele” mixes elements of orchestral with trap getting in his Freebandz shit. “Show of Hands” featuring A$AP Rocky produced with Honorable C.N.O.T.E. begins the encore of the LP by energetically talking about being trap dudes & Rocky dissing Drake too prior to “Streets Made Me a King” concluding the album by bragging about his status in a fun, charming manner.

I prefer We Don’t Trust You by a slight margin, but We Still Don’t Trust You still stands as a primarily solid companion to the previous album Future had put out 3 weeks ago. It pretty much lived up to the anticipation of being a superior HNDRXX/Save Me outside of only a couple songs that missed the landing primarily as Metro builds it’s sound around trap, alternative R&B & pop rap in the midst of Pluto himself pushing himself as an artist venturing off into the styles of trap soul, synthpop & electropop.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Future – “We Don’t Trust You” review

This is the 10th full-length LP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & singer/songwriter Future. Coming up as a member of the Dungeon Family thanks to his cousin Rico Wade of Organized Noize, he officially made his debut in 2012 with Pluto & would later follow it up with a hot streak of modern day trap essentials like Honest, Monster, Beast Mode & my personal favorite of his: D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2). However since 2017, Future has mostly been painting himself in a corner & prioritizing quantity over quality. I mean sure HNDRXX took a more sensual approach & SUPER SLIMEY showed a pretty great chemistry with fellow trap trailblazer Young Thug, but Beast Mode 2 was a step down from the predecessor & he got with Juice WRLD to put out a collab tape that literally should’ve never happened: WRLD on Drugs. Finally at the very beginning of that next year, The WIZRD was just passable even though it showed NO artistic evolution whatsoever & Save Me was a decent attempt at being more vulnerable, High Off Life admirably found him staying true to himself in the midst of trying new things & I Never Liked You put the toxicity claims about him to rest. That said: Metro Boomin’ reuniting for Future’s first double album since FUTURE HNDRXX was surely going to surpass them both when you think about the history between the 2.

The title track is a cloudy trap opener with some synthesizers talking about having hate written all over you leading into “Young Metro” taking them into church with co-production from Mike Dean & even The Weeknd supplying additional vocals. “Ice Attack” finds the So Icey Boyz takes the dynamic route instrumentally cautioning not to put too much jewelry on, but then the bell-driven “Type Shit” featuring Playboi Carti & Travis Scott is essentially the new “Carnival” finds the trio making it known that they do NOT fuck with rats out here referencing WCW founder Ted Turner.

“Claustrophobic” starts with pianos, strings, hi-hats & a spoken word Prodigy intro talking about feeling claustrophobic himself just before the horn-inflicted “Like That” featuring Kendrick Lamar finds the trio or quintet of you include ¥$ on the remix talking about poppin’ bottles & Kendrick recapturing that “Control” aura sayin’ “Fuck sneak dissin’, first person shooter, I hope they came with 3 switches I crash out like “Fuck rap,” diss Melle Mel if I had to. Got 2TEEZ with me, I’m snatchin’ chains & burnin’ tattoos” alongside “Motherfuck the big 3, n***a, it’s just big me” followed by “I’m really like that & your best work is a light pack, Prince outlived Mike Jack. ‘Fore all your dogs gettin’ buried that’s a K with all these 9s, he gon’ see Pet Sematary”.

The otherworldly atmosphere of “Slimed In” goes forward getting on his slime shit suggesting that y’all should be hittin’ him up through the Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp & having additional Young Thug vocals on the pre-hook while “Magic Don Juan (Princess Diana)” is this off-the-wall 2-parter co-produced by Boi-1da & Honorable C.N.O.T.E. likening himself to Bishop Don Juan serving as the soundtrack to buying drip to.

Travis joins Pluto on the psychedelic “Cinderella” talking about their racks being stuck together while “Runnin’ Outta Time” has to be endearing moment on the album featuring co-production from Zaytoven admitting that he can’t trust nobody calling out everyone that has ever turned his back on him. “Fried (She a Vibe)” goes back into a cloudier direction talking about still being high from the other night while the symphonic/trap crossover “Ain’t No Love” co-produced by Outtatown clarifies that it isn’t love when motherfuckers be acting fake out here & that’s facts.

“Everyday Hustle” featuring Rick Ross has a more soulful flare to it as they both discuss hustling 24/7 while the WWE Bad Blood IV theme song “GTA” finds the So Icey Boyz & Wheezy hooking up keys & hi-hats looking to crash out. The song “Seen It All” flips “Quiet Storm” by Prodigy feeling like he truly has seen & done it all while the penultimate track “W.T.F.Y.M. (What The Fuck You Mean?)” kinda has this otherworldly tone to the beat going crazy in the trap. “Where My Twin @?” concludes Future’s best album since DS2 by paying tribute to Thug.

Future’s output in the last 7 years has generally been mid although I do enjoy the highlights off each album, but We Don’t Trust You is basically a refined version of self-titled & Future’s strongest LP in almost a decade. Metro has evolved tremendously behind the boards since they last worked with one another, the hidden features were a fun touch & Pluto is absolutely back in his element. We Still Don’t Trust You in a few weeks has pretty much been confirmed to be a spiritual successor to HNDRXX stylistically much like this & if anything, it’ll make you love We Don’t Trust You more.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Metro Boomin’ – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Music from & Inspired by the Motion Picture)” review

This is a brand new soundtrack album curated by St. Louis producer, DJ & record executive Metro Boomin’. Gaining notoriety in the middle of the previous decade as one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in hip hop today, he’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s 3rd album D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2) as well as Gucci Mane’s 53rd mixtape Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage collab tape Without Warning. It was until after Halloween 2018 when he put out his solo debut Not All Heroes Wear Capes & returned last winter with the superior sophomore effort Heroes & Villains widely & rightfully earning him more respect as a beatsmith, but is now being recruited to do the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

“Annihilate” by Lil Wayne, Offset & Swae Lee kicks off the soundtrack talking about being in another universe with a bit of an electronic trap flare to the instrumental with co-production from Mike Dean whereas “Am I Dreamin’?” by A$AP Rocky & Roisee finds the pair triumphantly admits to feeling beaten yet refusing to give up. “All the Way Live” by Future & Lil Uzi Vert works in some synths & hi-hats so both of them can discuss the type of time they on just before “Danger (Spider)” by JIDTRO & Offset gives off a smoother sound despite the fact that it was solely produced nby Honorable C.N.O.T.E. as they both demonstrate being made for this dangerous life.

Young Metro returns behind the boards for the colorfully laced “Hummingbird” with beautifully sung vocals performed by James Blake realizing that his lover might be all he needs leading into “Calling” by ΠΔV & Swae Lee providing y’all a syrupy pop rap anthem with the Brown Boy continuing to improve as a performer like he previously showed on Demons Protected by Angels. “Silk & Cologne” by Ei8ht & Offset is essentially a dancehall remix of a Fortnite lobby track that Ei8ht recently did, but then “Link Up” by Don Toliver & Wizkid is easily the worst cut on the entire soundtrack as they get on the more melodic side pulling from afrobeats alongside pop rap & pop reggae talking about syncing up.

“Self Love” has to be one of Coi Leray’s best songs to date with a poppy, futuristic cut detailing a man that doesn’t even love himself trying to love on her while “Home” by Donny Womack & Uzi dives into more atmospheric trap turf talking about being alone this evening. The song “Nonviolent Communication” by James Blake, Pretty Flacko & 21 Savage is a somber acoustic trap ballad caught up in the whip with Mary Jane Watson in his head explaining their bond is misunderstood while the penultimate track “Givin’ Up” by Don Toliver, 21 & 2 Chainz come together for 1 last Honorable C.N.O.T.E. banger psychedelically talking about refusing to lose. “Nas Morales” however ends the album with Metro going drumless so Nas can cleverly compare himself to Miles Morales.

Now I really don’t review soundtrack albums unless it has something going for them since a lot of movie soundtracks these days are generally trash, but there was no doubt in my mind that this would live up to the expectations set by the respective Black Panther and Judas & the Black Messiah soundtracks especially given the growth Metro shown this past winter on Heroes & Villains. Lo & behold: I stand corrected. Metro continues to expand on his evolution as a producer with a primarily consistent guest list joining him.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Metro Boomin’ – “Not All Heroes Wear Capes 2: Heroes & Villains” review

This is the 2nd full-length solo album from St. Louis, Missouri producer, DJ & record executive Metro Boomin’. Gaining notoriety in the middle of the previous decade as one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in hip hop today, he’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s 3rd album D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2) as well as Gucci Mane’s 53rd mixtape Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage collab tape Without Warning. It was until after Halloween 2018 when he put out his solo debut Not All Heroes Wear Capes & with it’s 4 year anniversary passing by last month, Metro’s looking to make a trilogy out of it by dropping the sequel Heroes & Villains.

“On Time” by John Legend is an incredibly symphonic opener to the album produced with & TM88 singing about how he can’t take no days off prior to a ghostly switch-up sampling Homelander from the Amazon-owned Prime Video original series The Boys as well as a spoken word outro from both Morgan Freeman & A$AP Rocky whereas “Superheroes (Heroes & Villains)” starts off with Future over some triumphant trap production spitting braggadocio until a somber beat switch as Chris Brown asking who the villain really is. “Too Many Nights” by Don Toliver & Future takes a more bassy yet moodier route with the help of Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & Allen Ritter, but then “Raindrops (Insane)” by Travis Scott embraces a cloudier vibe talking about double cupping his pain.

Meanwhile on the piano/trap-laced “Umbrella”, we have real life cousins Young Nudy & 21 Savage linking up to spit some gangsta bars leading into the appropriately hypnotic “Trance” by Cactus Slatt talking about possibly giving this bitch a chance. “Around Me” is a full-fledged Don Toliver solo cut with dance-inspired groove admitting to seeing enough whirls for 1 night just before “Metro Spider” finds Metro Thuggin’ reuniting for a ghoulish trap hit flexing Young Thug’s entrepreneur lifestyle.

“I Can’t Save You” by Don Toliver works in some hi-hats & an incredibly cinematic loop to remind the world that you can’t save a hoe while “Creepin’” by The Weeknd & 21 Savage finds the 2 joining forces for a wavy alternative R&B/pop trap ballad telling their significant others that they don’t want to know about them creepin’ on them if that happens to be the case. “Niagara Falls (Foot or 2)” by Travis & 21 however is another piano/trap hybrid showing off the extravagant way they live while “Walk ‘Em Down (Don’t Kill Civilians)” starts off with 21 over some rich chords representing destruction until a powerful beat-switch & Mustafa singing about being done for.

The penultimate track “Lock on Me” by Future & Travis Scott is a shimmering trap cut bragging that they had to switch new foreigns while the closer “Feel the Fiyaaah” by A$AP Rocky & the late Takeoff hooks up a soul sample with some hi-hats asking why they greedy like wolves. “All the Money” by Gunna however serves as a bonus cut with a flute/trap instrumental talking about exactly what he wants this time around.

Metro has always been a top tier producer in the trap subgenre of hip hop in my opinion & this is one of those instances where the sequel album is superior to the predecessor. It’s more conceptual, his sample choices are remarkably well picked & the guests all provide their unique flavor with them sounding actually enthusiastic to be on here rather than phoning it in. If Yung Metro hasn’t earned your respect by now with the evolution he’s shown here, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

21 Savage – “Savage Mode II” review

This is the brand new & highly anticipated album from London, England, United Kingdom born albeit Atlanta, Georgia raised rapper, songwriter & occasional producer 21 Savage. Coming on my radar by appearing on the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class list, he continued to make a household name for himself in the current trap landscape by dropping his 2nd EP Savage Mode with Metro Boomin’ producing it in it’s entirety shortly after. Then came his full-length debut Issa Album & an incredible collab album he did with Offset called Without Warning the following year, but it wouldn’t be until the end of 2018 where 21 dropped his most mature work to date with i am > i was. Fast forward a little over a month later, he was arrested by ICE after it was revealed that he was born in the UK & stayed in the US on an expired visa. Luckily, he was freed 10 days later & has been laying low for the most part since then. However, 21 is reuniting with Metro for a sequel to Savage Mode.

After the Morgan Freeman intro (who narrates the whole album), the first song “Runnin’” talks about buying a Hollywood bitch over a best sampling of Diana Ross’ “I Thought It Took a Little Time (But Today I Fell in Love)” while the track “Glock in My Lap” talks about being strapped everywhere saying y’all more pussy than Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder Elon Musk over a haunting instrumental from Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & the So Icey Boyz. The song “Mr. Right Now” with Drake sees the 2 getting raunchy over a wavy beat while the track “Rich Nigga Shit” with Young Thug finds both of them getting materialistic over a spacious instrumental.

The song “Slidin’” spits that gun talk over a ghostly beat while the track “Many Men” is pretty much his own version of 50 Cent’s “Many Men (Wish Death)” down to sampling the actual joint itself. After the “Snitches & Rats” interlude, the actual “Snitches & Rats” song itself Young Nudy take aim at 6ix9ine then the track “My Dawg” pays tribute to Nipsey Hu$$le over a trap beat with some melancholic keyboard passages.

The song “Steppin’ on N****s” gets bloodthirsty over a beat that kinda has a dirty south feel to it while the track “Brand New Draco” gets boastful over a vibrant beat. The song “No Opp Left Behind” talks about corrupt cops over an instrumental with an apocalyptic atmosphere to it while the penultimate track “RIP Luv” talks about giving up on romance backed by a mournful beat with some co-production from Zaytoven. The album finishes with “San N Done”, where 21 ponders if this new chick is gonna ride for him over a nightly instrumental.

We all know that many sequel projects don’t exactly live up to the hype of the predecessor, but this is definitely an exception. 21’s maturity is very much present on here as it was on his last full-length album about 2 years ago & Metro Boomin’ manages to remind listeners of his place as one of the greatest producers in the trap subgenre.

Score: 3.5/5

Metro Boomin’ – “NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES” review

7218290

Metro Boomin’ is a 25 year old producer from St. Louis, Missouri who gained notoriety in the middle of this decade as the top producer in the trap subgenre of hip hop. He’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), Gucci Mane’s Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage’s Without Warning. But this past spring, he announced his retirement from making music & he has only produced on a couple albums since then. However, he is returning with his full-length debut.

The opener “10AM (Save the World)” by Gucci Mane talks about the famous life over an amazingly moody beat, but Wizzop‘s delivery could’ve been much better. The next song “Overdue” by Travis Scott talks about out-doing yourself over a clever ambient sample & while the track “Don’t Come Out the House” by 21 Savage gets murderous over some prominent bass & piano chords. There are even a couple points where he’s literally whispering on beat & even though it turned me off at first, I’ve come to appreciate it the more I listened to the album. The song “Dreamcatcher” by Swae Lee & Travis Scott sees the 2 getting playful over a settle instrumental while the track “Space Cadet” by Gunna gets boastful over a dreamy trap beat. The song “10 Freaky Girls” by 21 Savage is self-explanatory over an instrumental with a murky atmosphere to it while the track “Up to Something” is a sinister sounding yet melodic Metro Thuggin’ reunion.

The “Only 1” interlude by Travis Scott is an 80 second cut that sounds heavily influenced by Kanye West’s 808s & Heartbreak while then the song “Lesbian” sees Gunna teaming up with his mentor Young Thug to tell the listener how they both fell in love with a woman who actually happens to be a lesbian referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T over a somber beat. The track “Borrowed Love” by Swae Lee & Wizkid is of course a boring love ballad & if that wasn’t enough, the song right after “Only You” by Offset & J Balvin is a vomit-inducing attempt at going dancehall. The penultimate track on here “No More” by Kodak Black & 21 Savage talks about being faded over a fittingly intoxicating instrumental & then the closer “No Complaints” by Offset & Drake is still a haunting yet fun wealth anthem despite being released as a stand alone single a year prior.

I knew something was up when those missing person billboards about Young Metro appeared about a week ago & this album is makes me really happy about his official return. Probably slightly more so than the new Swizz Beatz album POISON that came out the same day as this, because at least Metro produces every single track. He really sounds like he took his time with crafting these beats & almost every performer just nails it. If you wanna hear the hottest producer in hip hop’s most popular subgenre at the current moment making a triumphant return, then PLEASE give this a listen.

Score: 3.5/5

Gucci Mane – “Droptopwop” review

To celebrate a whole year of being a free man, Gucci Mane is delivering his 58th mixtape & he has enlisted Metro Boomin’ to produce it in it’s entirety. The tape’s opening track “5,000,000” sees Gucci bragging about how much he makes in a day & the bass on here is just THUNDEROUS! The next track “Tho” sees Gucci freestyling over some Atari-esque loop with some trap snares & it’s actually not too bad. The next song “Hurt a Nigga Feelings” brags about the shit he has over some sinister synths & hand claps, but he does it so charismatically. Especially during the hook. The song “Helpless” is a sex tune, but I don’t like how the bass sounds so loud that you can barely hear the synths. The track “Met Gala” has some really nice bells throughout, but it feels more like an Offset song given the fact that he dominates the track up until Gucci’s verse pops up during the last minute & a half. The song “Finesse the Plug” talks about how life’s a gamble & the main loop on here sounds really creepy, but the delivery was just meh. The song “Dance with the Devil” has some twinkling high-pitched keys throughout & I actually like how he’s talks about a man getting arrested & a woman trying to act gangsta on here. The song “Both Eyes Closed” has a decent beat & Gucci’s verse isn’t bad at all, but the 2 redundant guest verses from 2 Chainz & Young Dolph flat out ruin it for me. The penultimate track “Bucket List” talking about him getting & doing things he never thought he would over a murky trap beat, but the “she may get this dick like 1%” line at the beginning of the 1st verse was just corny to me. The tape closes out with “Loss 4 Wrdz”, where Gucci & Rick Ross talk about getting fucked up on drugs, but Ross actually goes in harder than Gucci did on here. While some still knock of Gucci Mane, he certainly is more tolerable than all of these mumble rappers nowadays. Plus, he has gotten better since his release from prison (both as an artist & as a person) & this tape is no exception at all. Metro Boomin’s production is just as dark & hard-hitting as ever & given that Gucci has sounded great over Metro’s beats before, for him to finally rap over them for the duration of a full project was bound to happen soon & I’m glad that he finally gave it to the fans to commemorate being a free man for 365 days
Score: 3.5/5