Tag: Smiley

Smiley – “Never Box Me In” review

This is the 3rd EP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper Smiley. Beginning as a member of the Garden Gang, he would go on to drop his debut mixtape Buy or Bye in the spring of 2018 followed by 2 EPs & even a couple more tapes before local superstar Drake signed him to OVO Sound a little over 3 years ago already. As for his OVO debut Buy or Bye 2, it didn’t really do all that much in catching my interest or standing out enough to the point where I’d go back to it & I Did What I Did wasn’t doing any favors. In spite of Kendrick Lamar performing last night & tonight in the label’s city, Smiley’s advising to Don’t Box Me In.

“Budge” wasn’t that good of a single bragging over a piano-trap instrumental that his trap house was doing the same numbers as the NFL when I doubt that whereas “6SideKids” cloudily talks about feeling bored on tour. “2 Mazza” featuring Drake has gotta be one of the more salvageable moments on the EP from the Boi-1da beat to even Smiley’s mentor barely outperforming him leading into the atmospheric “Kept Snowin’” tediously speaking on the racks making him feel good.

Why G pops up on “Trapman” for a subpar trap collab prior to Icewear Vezzo saving the best feature on the EP for “Money Feen” talking about their overly obsessive desire for money. “Big Dog” featuring Baka Not Nice whose weird case still makes people wonder why he’s around takes a nosedive again hilariously referring to themselves as bosses & after “Wave the Flag” adds insult to injury talking about not making it worse since he learned from the best, Pooh Beatz samples Sean Leon during “Spill the Tell” until Smiley derails it by making them “put out your hand like Wii”.

“Bob Curry” cloudily starts the deluxe run boldly asks if anybody wants smoke when the guy who have him a deal’s still taking Ls while “Oliver North” continues with a comatose tribute to his city. “Ratchet Baby” featuring Roy Wood$ finds the 2 talking about preferring some nastiness in their women while “Faddah” pleads for all the time he’s lost to come back when that isn’t happening. The final bonus track “Not a Fan” ends the EP with him talking about being a “guyser” whatever that means.

Last summer, it was mentioned when I had reviewed I Did What I Did that Smiley was by far the weakest link compared to the rest of the OVO roster & Don’t Box Me In solidifies that even further. I appreciate the fact he wanted to go for a different direction compared to his earlier material, but that doesn’t mean I found a lot of his performances boring compared to almost half of the guests on top of the production for a good run of the 36 minutes coming off as mostly uninteresting.

Score: 1.5/5

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Smiley – “I Did What I Did” review

Smiley is a 25 year old rapper from Toronto, Ontario, Canada starting out as a member of the Garden Gang. He would go on to drop his debut mixtape Buy or Bye in the spring of 2018, which was followed up with 2 EPs & even a couple more tapes before local superstar Drake signed him to OVO Sound a little over 2 years ago already. As for his OVO debut Buy or Bye 2, it didn’t really do all that much in catching my interest or standing out enough to the point where I’d go back to it. But ahead of his 26th birthday next Thursday, I went into Smiley’s 3rd EP albeit 2nd body of work under the 6 God’s wing hoping he would surpass my expectations a little.

“Moderation” is an airy trap opener with Smiley talking about motivating a hoe after taking ecstasy whereas “Benzi Boys” works in some piano melodies & hi-hats as Tay Keith cooking up quite possibly the best instrumental on the whole entire EP preferring Mercedes-Benz over Honda, which rightfully so in my opinion. “Fast Route” goes full-blown drill talking about waking up in the morning to count hundreds just before “Nicky 9 Door” takes a syrupy trap approach details beating it up nice because fuck the plug.

Meanwhile, “How Far” gives off a more triumphant vibe talking about going from his Garden Gang days to being a protege of one of the biggest superstars in the world is profound although it’s way too short. Also, the LeBron James reference during the hook doesn’t do much for me either personally as dope as he is on the court. “Eternals” on the other hand has a hazier trap approach promising tondo it just like his mentor did with eyes green like Jaylen despite the fact that a good chunk of the OVO roster doesn’t really stand out.

The song “You Went Ghost” shifts into cloudy trap territory basically calling out someone that basically did him dirty as fuck while the penultimate track “Cut Her Off” brings in some hi-hats & a vocal sample drowning heavily in reverb talking about having to severe ties with a bitch because he feels like he’s at the point now where he’s better off without her in his life. “Long Nights” is a more stripped back choice of a closer laced by Cubeatz as he makes it known to his new bitch who wants to celebrate that he ain’t in the mood to do so right now.

I’m not trying to hate on OVO because I do appreciate Popcaan for already being a dancehall veteran on top of enjoying PARTYNEXTDOOR’s early stuff, Majid Jordan’s 2nd EP albeit OVO debut A Place Like This & lastly dvsn’s debut album Sept. 5th respectively. And outside a few flashes in the pan, Smiley further proves himself as the weakest link on the label. The production’s ok, but his voice isn’t all that commanding accompanied by songwriting that I’d consider mediocre at best & the lows are cringeworthy.

Score: 1.5/5

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