Yeat – “Up 2 Më” review

This is the full-length debut from Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat. Breaking out in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue Strips, he would go on to follow it up the next year with his debut mixtape I’m So Me. Then after dropping We Us & Hold On, it’s safe to say that 2021 is his biggest year yet. Especially given the success of Alivë & 4L. But now with a month since putting out Trëndi & earning a co-sign from Drake, he’s continuing the hustle with Up 2 Më.

“C’mon” is a cloudy opener about killing pussy whereas “Morning mudd” works in some synthesizers from Bugz Ronin to say he had to get up & chase a bag. “Got rich” goes for a more rage-inducing vibe thanks to none other than F1LTHY of Working on Dying with Yeat bragging about his newfound wealth just before “Lët ya know” has a more futuristic sound telling us this might be his last song.

Meanwhile on “Stayëd tha same”, we have Yeat jumping on top of some snares & bells from BNYX to talk about never switching up despite his recent success leading into “Gët Busy” having a bit of a retro video game feel in the beat with boastful lyrics. “Rokstar” boisterously details his new lifestyle, but then SeptembersRich tags along for the rubbery “Trëndy way” talking about how they do shit.

“Swërved It” has some incredible organ harmonies talking about calling out those fronting on him while “Ya Ya” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producers Rio Leyva & Synthetic mixes a bass-line higher than the synths answering “yes” to all these questions people been asking him. “U could “tëll” grimly proclaims his top dog status whereas “Factz” brings in a flute saying he didn’t get this shit for free. “ Bak on ‘ëm” takes a murkier direction speaking on being in a rich climate, but then the instrumental “Hëy” brings to table sounds more robotic & Yeat taking about punching these bitches off the Earth.

“Turban” has a more chaotic sound continuing to detail where he is now leading into the unhinged “Twizzy Rich” proclaiming it’s all on him. The wobbly instrumental on “Told ya” is dope with Yeat saying he just caught the vibe, but then the rubbery synth banger “Monëy so big” that Trgc cooks up talking about his wealth increasing within the last few months due to his newfound popularity.

“Dëserve it” brings back the bells to speak on needing it all while the song “K’ant changë” is a rowdier cut continuing the theme of not letting fame get to him. The penultimate track “Callin’ më” serves as a response to the labels & old friends/bitches contacting him again now that he’s famous & then “Lying 4 fun” is a skeletal closer telling us he’s livin’ life just how he dreamed of it.

Even though I’d have to say 4L & Trëndi are his finest bodies of work to date, I think Up 2 Më continues to build up to Yeat’s hype. I could’ve done without like 5-6 joints & some of them could’ve been more fleshed out, but his unique personality is still shining as bright as it ever did.

Score: 3.5/5

Grip – “I Died For This!?” review

Grip is a 32 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia who came up in 2017 off his debut mixtape Porch. This was followed up a couple years later with the full-length debut Snubnose but after dropping 2 EPs in 2020 & signing to Eminem’s very own Interscope Records imprint Shady Records earlier this summer, he’s ready to make his major label debut by putting out his sophomore album to a wider audience.

After the “Enter Stage Right” intro, the first song “And the Eulogy Read!?” kicks things off with a boom bap banger recapping his career up to this point whereas “Hands Up!” serves as a spacey shot at the system. The title track takes a turn into trap territory saying he waited his whole life for this certain moment just before “Momma Told Me!” is a ghostly look back on his mother advising him to get that paper.

Meanwhile on “Placebo”, we have Grip & Royce da 5’9” jumping on top of a trap instrumental that later switches into boom bap turf to compare this song to a substance or treatment that has no therapeutic value leading into him proclaiming he’s larger than life for the chaotic “Gutter!”. Things take a much more melodic turn for “JDDTTINT!?” saying he doesn’t want to die, but then “A Soldier’s Story” has a psychedelic feel saying what he writes is like a zeitgeist for life’s highs & lows.

Eminem of course tags along for the bassy, organ-laced “Walkthrough!” saying they can’t save the world whereas “The Lox!” with Tate228 starts off with a nocturnal boom bap instrumental before switching up into a trap beat saying he wants a check. “Enem3” with Big Rube had a more settler tone telling their old friends to meet them at the middle just before “ConMan” is a piano ballad saying he has a date with destiny.

“Glenwood” serves as a synth-laced freestyle about the titular city in Georgia while the song “At What Cost!?” somberly opens up about depression. The penultimate track “Patterns?” harmoniously apologies for letting his partner down & finally, “Pennies / Exit Stage Left!?” ends the album apocalyptically asks if you’re not entertained.

Even though I still prefer Snubnose, that’s not to say I Died For This!? isn’t a bad entry point for anyone new to him. He manages to stay true to himself rather than selling out now that he’s on a major label & still manages to do a fine job at carrying the hunger from his previous efforts onto this.

Score: 3.5/5

Vince Staples – Self-Titled review

This is eponymous 3rd full-length album from Compton, California rapper, singer/songwriter & actor Vince Staples. Coming up as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future crew, he would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Records & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna, but the dude’s last album Big Fish Theory was unquestionably his most experimental work yet. But ever since linking up with Kenny Beats at the tail-end of 2018 for the radio show-themed EP FM!, we’ve heard very little from Vince. So given the 3 year gap & him jumping ship from Def Jam to Motown Records, to say I was excited for him to finally make a comeback is an understatement.

“Are You With That?” kicks things off with a wonky trap instrumental from Kenny Beats (who produced the whole album start to finish) & Vince saying all he wanted was to be a thug growing up whereas “Laws of Averages” is much more slower in terms of production with lyrics about how “I don’t trust no bitch with my government”. Vince jumps on top of a slowed down sample on “Sundown Town” to talk about running wild before taking things into a murky trap direction for “The Shining”.

Meanwhile on “Taking Trips”, we go into more psychedelic territory for Vince to bug out over leading into an interlude entitled “The Apple & The Tree”. He later expresses homesickness with the R&B flavored “Take Me Home” while the penultimate song “Lil Fade” serves as a symphonic ode to all his homies in the pen. After the “Lakewood Mall” interlude, the closer “MHM” works in some synths & rubbery bass to spit that gangsta shit.

For the 3-year wait, I think this self-titled joint was well worth it. Wish it was longer than 22 minutes, but Vince takes through events in his life that he’s never put out there before & he sounds a lot better with Kenny Beats than he did on FM!. Looking forward to hear what route he takes for Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

Score: 4/5

DMX – “Exodus 1:7” review

This is the 8th & final full-length outing from Yonkers icon DMX, whom originally started off as a beatboxer for Ready Ron as a teenager in the mid-80s. However it wasn’t until 1998 when X saved Def Jam Recordings from bankruptcy by dropping 2 of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums of that decade back to back: It’s Dark & Hell’s Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The follow-up …And Then There Was X at the tail-end of the next year was just as great in my opinion but from there, the next 4 albums from Ruff Ryders Entertainment’s flagship artist would range from average at best or hideous at worst. But after completing Exodus 1:7 just before his unfortunate passing 7 weeks back, Swizz Beatz & Def Jam are coming together to release it publicly.

The araabMUZIK co-produced “That’s My Dog” with The LOX kicks the album off as a misty ode to friendship whereas the next track “Bath Salt” with both JAY-Z & Nas is an aggressive, blaring theme for the streets. We get a cool sample of “California My Way” by The Main Ingredient on “Dog’s Out” as Lil Wayne joins X to wreak havoc on the mic whereas the Moneybagg Yo assisted “Money Money Money” is a weak attempt at trying to get a radio hit despite it’s Phantom of the Opera-esque production.

Meanwhile on “Hold Me Down”, we go into a more electro direction as X alludes to spirituality just before doing his own version of an unreleased Swizz/Kanye collab that is “Skyscrapers” co-produced by the underappreciated Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis. After the “Stick Up” skit, the almighty Griselda comes along for “Hood Blues” as the 4 reminisce on their come-up whilst sampling “Shady Blues” by Lee Mason before things take a turn into a more romantic direction as X & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg jump on a “Sexual Healing” sample provided for the mR. pOrTeR co-produced “Take Control”.

Nas is re-enlisted for the meditative yet uplifting “Walking in the Rain” & after the titular skit, the penultimate track “Letter to My Son” finishes off the album by making a guitar-tinged tribute to X’s youngest son Exodus (whom the album was named after). To round it out, the “Prayer” outro is a spoken word piece that asks God to always look after us whether it be good times or bad times.

Anyone who’s been following me long enough probably already knows my stance on posthumous albums, so I’m not gonna get too deep into it. That being said, Exodus 1:7 is absolutely amongst the better ones out there. I understand some heads might be turned off by the large amount of features going into it which I understand because that tends to be the case with a lot of posthumous albums, but you can definitely tell this was completed before X’s passing because every joint sounds fully fleshed out & he actually has chemistry with those who contributed. Rest In Peace to the Dog!

Score: 3.5/5

J. Cole – “The Off-Season” review

This is the long-awaited 6th full-length album from North Carolina rapper, singer/songwriter & producer J. Cole. At this point, I’m pretty sure everyone & their mom knows who dude is. Especially given the universal acclaim of projects like The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, Born Sinner & my personal favorite: 2014 Forest Hills Drive. However, his last 2 albums 4 Your Eyez Only & K.O.D. were both released to mixed reception. Matter of fact: my review for K.O.D. is amongst my most controversial. I don’t get shit for it anymore but at the time when I gave it a 6/10, Cole stans were on my ass for the next 2-3 weeks. Even to this day: my opinions on that & 4YEO haven’t changed at all but that’s not the point. I was given hope for The Off-Season given his feature run (most notably “Family & Loyalty” off the final Gang Starr album One of the Best Yet) along with his L.A. Leakers freestyle just a couple of days ago.

The opener “95 South” pays homage to Cam’ron’s “Killa Season” from J. Cole’s flashy lyricism to even The Heatmakerz-influenced production provided by Boi-1da. Cam’ron himself makes an appearance during the intro & outro. Even the “Put Yo Hood Up” sample during the last 40 seconds is pretty cool. The next song “amari” has a more mystical feel to it instrumentally with T-Minus & Timbaland as Cole while the track “My Life” serves as a sequel to “a lot” off i am > i was from it’s soulful trap production co-produced by Jake One & Wu10 down to the surprise 21 Savage & even the subject matter.

“Applying Pressure” jumps into boom bap territory going on about how you just gotta flex sometimes whereas “Punchin’ the Clock” details teetering between enlightened & insanity over a Tae Beast instrumental that has a bit of a ghostly yet jazzy feel to it. He later incorporates a fucking Willie Hutch sample on “100 Mil” talk about how he’s been getting better over time & even though the instrumental on “Pride is the Devil” is somewhat similar to “Can’t Decide” off Aminé’s last album Limbo, I do enjoy Cole & Lil Baby’s takes on egoism quite a bit.

Meanwhile on “Let Go My Hand”, we get an instrumental from DJ Dahi & Ging that almost takes me back to 1999-era Joey Bada$$ with lyrics about making sure his son is equipped when he gets older before “interlude” incorporates a Tommy Parker sample to talk about coming a long way. “The Climb Back” has a well-flipped[Brief Encounter sample throughout with Cole rapping about being assessed as one of the all-time greats while the penultimate track “Close” surprisingly samples MF DOOM’s “Valerian Root” as the lyrics talk advise being patient with God. Then the album finishes off emotionally with “Hunger on the Hillside”, which is Cole jumping on some strings to say he’s gonna be the same man when he retires.

Although I’d have to say my current Album of the Year so far is a toss-up between Death & the Magician or Haram, I’m not gonna deny that this is hands down the most consistent J. Cole album I’ve heard since Forest Hills Drive. He sounds like he has a fire under his ass performance-wise & it’s refreshing to hear him bringing outside collaborators into the fold. If he keeps it up, It’s a Boy & The Fall Off could both shape up to be epic finales in his career.

Score: 3.5/5

Smokepurpp – “Psycho (Legally Insane)” review

Smokepurpp is a 23 year old rapper from Miami, Florida who broke out in 2017 alongside his childhood friend Lil Pump. Shortly after the release of his debut EP Up Now Fuck Next, he caught the attention of Houston superstar Travis Scott & dropped his critically acclaimed debut mixtape Deadstar under Cactus Jack Records in a joint venture with the Interscope Records sub-label Alamo Records. This was followed up with a 3-Pack EP a couple months later as well as the Murda Beatz-produced Bless Yo Trap tape in 2018 & the Lost Planet EP in 2019, but then Purpp would leave Cactus Jack that same year to release the full-length debut Deadstar 2. Which was below average in comparison to that debut mixtape. His sophomore album Florida Jit from last summer turned out to be mediocre, as the only saving graces of it were Ronny J’s production & a couple of the features. But to move on from a tumultuous 2020 like almost all of us are doing at this point, Purpp is coming out of the woodwork by dropping his 3rd EP.

Things start off with “Prom Queen”, where Purpp talks about being trigger happy over a trap beat sampling “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” by Wendy Rene. The next song “We Outside” with Lil Mosey finds the duo talking about poppin’ out until the sun comes up over an instrumental that has a bit of a country flare to it while the track “200 Thou” produced by Ginseng talks about walkin’ through the mall with a bunch of cash on him over a comatose beat.

The song “Rockstar” talks about his new lifestyle over an instrumental that sounds like it was copied right out of the Pi’erre Bourne playbook while the penultimate track “What You Wanna Do?” gets on the murder tip over a fittingly grisly beat. The EP ends with “Tic Tac”, where Smokepurpp talks about fucking up the trap over a trap metal instrumental.

Coming from someone who enjoyed Deadstar & Bless Yo Trap quite a bit, I really didn’t care for this EP other than a couple joints. The production choices are very questionable for a good majority of it’s 13-minute runtime & lyrically, Smokepurpp is just painting himself into a corner at this point.

Score: 1.5/5

Eminem – “MUSIC TO BE MURDERƎD BY 2: SIDE B” review

Eminem. Slim Shady. Marshall Mathers. B-Rabbit. The white guy from D12. What can be said now about the Detroit icon that hasn’t been said already? Especially since his first 3 major label albums The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP & The Eminem Show are considered by many to be the holy trinity in his discography. However, things have been quite rough for Em in the last 3-4 years. Revival was unquestionably one of the worst albums of the 2010s, which he would vent his frustration with on his last 2 full-lengths Kamikaze & Music to Be Murdered By. But after many rumors, we’re being treated to a sequel to his previous album.

After the “Alfred” intro, the first song “Black Magic” is a questionable opener about this woman having his heart in chains over a glossy beat whereas the next track “Alfred’s Theme” picks things up as Eminem reaffirms his technicality over a zany, cartoonish instrumental. My favorite line was when he said “I won’t buy a designer ’cause I don’t pander”. The song “Tone Deaf” talks about those who try to cancel him along with an awkward line about “playing Fortnite with your grandma” & a dope tribute to King Von over a funky ass beat with co-production from Luis Resto while the track “Book of Rhymes” lets loose every thought he had wrestling an iPad tablet computer developed by Apple Inc. over a generic trap instrumental with co-production from Illa da Producer & a mediocre switch-up. Also of all joints, why have DJ Premier do scratching for this?

The song “Favorite Bitch” looks back on the days when he was young & hungry over an wavy beat while the track “Guns Blazing” with Dr. Dre finds the 2 talking about being back on their bullshit just like the old days over a grand, bassy instrumental. The song “Gnat” compares his lyrics to COVID & throws a redundant MGK jab over a mellow d.a. got that dope beat while the track “Higher” compellingly talks about not knowing where to go from here over a buzzing instrumental. I liked it when Em said “Reminds me of how an overcrowded hospital waitin’ room’ll get, what I mean it’s maybe I have more patience than I’m able to admit“. The song “These Demons” talks about how funny haters are along with a clever Insane Clown Posse reference over a quasi-tropical beat & after the “Key” skit, the track “She Loves Me” talks about this women being “Carmen Electrocute” over a triumphant instrumental from Dre.

The song “Killer” talks about money over a rubbery beat while the track “Zeus” is a “Rap God” sequel backed with a depressive instrumental from T-Minus & I don’t think he’s dissing WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg like a lot of people are saying because Uncle Snoop has always had nothing but love for Em. Also the Rihanna line was dope & the opening line “She says I’m trash, but listens to Tekashi” made me cringe because let’s be real: NOBODY listens to that clown in 2020. And this is coming from someone who’s never even listened to TattleTales. After the “Thus Far” interlude, the closer “Discombobulated” takes it back to the Relapse days as Eminem is rapping in accents about being just that over over a Dr. Dre beat reminiscent to the early 2000s co-produced by Black Bethoven & S1.

We all saw this coming (especially since Aftermath Entertainment’s in-house producer Dem Jointz posted the artwork on Instagram just 2-3 days before) & to be honest, I have to put it right behind it’s predecessor that came out right at the beginning of 2020 couple months before it all went to shit. Nothing that’s gonna change my year-end lists but the production has improved whereas lyrically, Eminem is focusing less on the backlash Revival justifiably received & it also fits the whole Hitchcock theme as much as previously.

Score: 3.5/5

KiD CuDi – “Man on the Moon III: The Chosen” review

KiD CuDi is a 36 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & actor from Cleveland, Ohio who blew up in 2008 off his debut mixtape A KiD Named CuDi as well as his songwriting credits on his mentor Kanye West’s 4th album 808s & Heartbreak. This was followed up with his groundbreaking debut & sophomore albums Man on the Moon: The End of the Day & Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager the next year & the year after that respectively but then 3 years later, CuDi would leave G.O.O.D. Music amicably to form his own Republic Records imprint Wicked Awesome Records after releasing the self-produced & overlooked Indicud. However, I found Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon to be mediocre at best & who could forget when CuDi attempted to go alt-rock on the critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven? Luckily he would redeem himself on his previous effort Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ in 2016 along with the eponymous debut album from him & Kanye as the duo Kids See Ghosts a couple summers back. But after a couple of loose singles throughout this year, KiD CuDi is ready to finally close out the Man on the Moon trilogy on his 7th full-length album.

After the “Beautiful Trip” intro, the first song “Tequila Shots” talks about internal conflict over a psychedelic trap instrumental from Dot da Genius & Take a Daytrip whereas the following track “Another Day” talks about how ain’t much changed in him over a spacious beat. The song “She Knows This” gets sexual over a voluptuous FNZ instrumental while the track “Dive” talks about a sadness in him over a cavernous beat from none other than Kevin Parker.

The song “Damaged” talks about being a broken man over a befuddled instrumental while the track “Heaven on Earth” talks about living alright over a nocturnal, bass-heavy beat. The song “Show Out” with Skepta sees the 2 flexin’ over a rubbery instrumental while the track “Mr. Solo Dolo, Pt. III” talks about somethin’ twisting him over a cloudy beat from Plain Pat & WZRD.

The song “Sad People” pays tribute to everyone out there who’s depressed over a glitzy instrumental while the track “Elsie’s Baby Boy (Flashback)” looks back on his childhood over a rock-flavored beat. The song “Sept. 16th” talks about searching for love over an instrumental with some wavy synths while “The Void” talks about falling in an abyss over a downcast beat from Mike Dean & WZRD.

The track “Lovin’ Me” is a gorgeous duet with Phoebe Bridgers about self love down the euphoric instrumental while “The Pale Moonlight” talks about people who think they know him over a vibrant beat. The song “Rockstar Knights” with Trippie Redd finds the 2 talking about the luxurious lifestyles they live over a ghostly trap instrumental while the penultimate track “4 da Kidz” is a dedication to the chosen few over a fiery beat. The album ends with “Lord I Know”, where CuDi talks about being a warrior over an atmospheric instrumental.

I didn’t think this day would actually come, but I’m sure as Hell glad that it did because it’s a great finisher to the trilogy that got KiD CuDi where he is currently. You can definitely hear the Travis Scott influence but simultaneously, he does a phenomenal job at recapturing the vibes of his first 2 albums from the sounds provided by the original producers of those records to the concepts throughout.

Score: 4/5

Jeezy – “The Recession 2” review

This is the 12th full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia veteran Jeezy. Dropping 2 mediocre albums at the beginning of the 2000s, it wouldn’t be until 2005 where he completely revolutionized trap by dropping Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It. Last we heard from Jeezy was a little over a year ago when he dropped his “retirement” album Thug Motivation 104: The Legend of the Snowman but after becoming the senior advisor for Def Jam Recordings’ chairman & given the times we’re currently in, we are being treated to a sequel to the 2008 classic The Recession.

Things kick off with “Oh Lord”, where Jeezy opens up on how nobody know his troubles but God over angelic instrumental. The next song “Here We Go” talks about keeping faith when times get hard over a gladiator-sounding beat from Don Cannon while the track “Modern Day” talks about how being black is a crime these days over an maniacal instrumental. The song “Back” with Yo Gotti sees the 2 talking about carrying their hoods over a vibrant beat while the track “Da Ghetto” with E-40 finds the 2 talking about getting their blessings in the streets over a hair-raising instrumental.

The song “Niggaz” talks about lame ass people over a wobbly beat from Charles Hamilton of all people while the track “Death of Me” talks about needing this woman over an easing instrumental. The song “Stimulus Check” gets on the woke side of things over a soulful boom bap beat while the track “My Reputation” with Lil Duval sees the 2 getting back on the romance tip over a Silkk the Shocker sample.

“The Glory” talks about g-stepping over a Marvin Gaye sample while the song “Live & Die” talks about life in Atlanta over a serene instrumental. The track “Praying Right” gets spiritual referencing the Comcast Corporation owned Xfinity over some keys & synths while the song “Therapy for My Soul” is a diss towards 50 Cent & Freddie Gibbs backed by a wavy J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental. The penultimate track “Almighty Black Dollar” with Rick Ross finds the 2 calling out big name designer brands over a horn-inflicted beat & then “The Kingdom” talks about giving them his heart over a fancy boom bap instrumental.

We all know everybody says they’re gonna retire, but I can’t even mad at this album because I think it’s Jeezy’s best album since Seen It All: The Autobiography. The production has stepped up tremendously in comparison to his last few studio efforts & his maturity really shines through.

Score: 3.5/5

2 Chainz – “So Help Me God!” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia veteran 2 Chainz. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo Playaz Circle, they eventually signed to Disturbing tha Peace Records/Def Jam Recordings in the 2000s & only released 2 albums before venturing off into solo careers. His last 2 outings Pretty Girls 👍 TRΛP MUSIC & Rap or Go to the League have truly become staples in Tity Boi’s career as both of them excellently showcasing his maturity. But after being hyped all year, here we are with the man’s 5th full-length album.

The album starts with “Lambo Wrist”, where 2 Chainz boasts over a wavy instrumental from STREETRUNNER & LilJu. The next song “Grey Area” talks about being old enough to be & do a number of things over a jazzy beat while the track “Save Me” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again sees the 2 talking about being their own worst enemies over a soulful instrumental from Mike WiLL Made-It. The song “Money Maker” finds ColleGrove reuniting to make a decent strip club banger backed by an awesome sample of “Piece of My Love” by Guy while the track “Can’t Go for That” ponders where to draw the line with this woman over an instrumental sampling The Bird & the Bee.

The song “Feel a Way” with Kanye West finds the 2 talking about how God don’t make no mistakes over a nightly beat from Boi-1da & Mike Dean while the track “Quarantine Thick” with Latto sees the 2 paying tribute to all the sexy ladies in the world over an instrumental with a dope piano-loop. The song “Ziploc” with Kevin Gates finds the 2 talking about drug dealing over a monstrous beat while the track “Free Lighter” with Chief Keef & Lil Uzi Vert sees the trio talking about getting hooked up with their dope over a rowdy instrumental from Keef himself.

The song “Toni” talks about how ill this bitch by the same name is over a TM88 beat with some prominent bells while the track “Southside Hov” if you couldn’t tell by the title compares himself to JAY-Z over a climatic instrumental. The song “Vampire” talks about keeping a gun by his car seat over a lavish beat from Cool & Dre while the track “Y.R.B. (Young, Rich & Black)” with Rick Ross finds the 2 talking about what it means to be such over an orchestral instrumental. The penultimate song “Wait for You to Die” talks about how no one cares about you until you’re gone over a David Banner beat with an Alan Lomax sample & then the closer “55 Times” talks about how he’s doing something right over a chilled out instrumental from Dem Jointz.

A lot of cats put out their best work when they’re younger, but 2 Chainz is one of the few instances of an artist getting better as they get older & it’s undeniable. There are a few features in the tracklisting that I could’ve done without, but the personal lyrics are compelling & the production choices are very consistent as well.

Score: 3.5/5