Alemeda is a 24 year old Sudanese-Ethiopian singer/songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona who became inspired to make music after watching the High School Musical trilogy as a heavy Disney pop-punk kid growing up. However, it wasn’t until her feature on the Hit-Boy produced highlight “Fallacy” off Ab-Soul’s 5th album Herbert at the end of 2022 were many including myself first caught onto her. Almost 22 months later, she’s celebrating her new joint deal with Top Dawg Entertainment & Warner Records by releasing her debut EP.
“I hate your face” starts on the groovy R&B tip singing that she wants to speak to whoever raised these ignorant, uneducated haters whereas “Don’t Call Me” takes the alternative rock route telling an ex of hers that she made his problems important to her & not to contact her. “Guy’s Girl” comes to the realization that the guy she used to see won’t ever change over a pop rock instrumental, but then the rock/R&B crossover “I already dug your grave” asks if he regrets the things he’s done when he’s alone.
To kick off the other half of FUCK IT, “1st Love Song” fuses pop rock with post-punk revival & bedroom pop admitting she was pissed on the evening of her partner’s birthday while “Gonna Bleach My Eyebrows” swaps out the pop rock & post-punk revival influences in favor of 2-step & alternative R&B talking about being a new artist with a new style. Below the Belt” feels young as she’s ever been & old enough to know this individual never really gave her a chance over warm guitar shredding & “Not Asking for Much” is a down-tuned closer needing some summertime.
If any of you enjoyed the “Fallacy” feature like I did & have yet to check out Alemeda’s own discography, this EP is the truest expression of who she is artistically & personally. She makes her case as the newest welcoming addition of the TDE roster letting go of what doesn’t serve her & embracing the chaos and beauty of being unapologetically real through the styles of contemporary R&B, alternative rock, pop rock, post-punk revival, alternative R&B & 2-step.
Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Bktherula returning with a sophomore LP & a sequel to her previous EP LVL5. Coming up 7 years back as a pop/R&B singer, she eventually broke out in the plugg scene after dropping the single “Tweakin’ Together” produced by my lil homie Mars off her debut mixtape Love Santana. This resulted in her signing to Warner Records, following it up with her sophomore tape Nirvana along with the full-length debut Love Black & the previously mentioned LVL5. So over a year later, it makes total sense to put out the next installment.
“Code” is this rage-inducing opener admitting she hasn’t been in the studio in almost a week & it’s been taking a toll on her personally whereas “Nun” works in a cloudy trap instrumental asking why this person’s hitting her phone up when they ain’t even doing shit. “Tatti” brings some hypertrap undertones into the fold discussing self-confidence, empowerment & sexual liberation prior to “Boi” taking the spacious trap boasting that she kissed your favorite bitch.
Cash Cobain hooks Bk up with his signature sample drill on sound “Shakin’ It” bragging that she’s having it, making it & breaking it while the otherworldly “Just Make Sure” saves the drums for the last 30 seconds so she can demonstrate her range showing her singing chops for a couple minutes. “Wishuwasdacrew” gives me a quasi-industrial vibe airing out who was supposed to her down bitch, but then “Insane” produced by Ayelavish! vibrantly talks about going crazy with it.
“Crayon” expresses her desire for the lace front with the brown at the top & the teal at the bottom over a synth-trap beat just before “Woman” featuring J.I.D talks about exes backed by a high-pitched sample. “Feathers” keeps the industrial influences going flying to the top & losing the feathers of her wings in the process while “The Way” dabbles with alternative R&B once more telling her significant other how much she loves the way they light up the room. “Racks Up” ends the album by singing over a guitar about her pockets getting bigger.
The first installment had a relatable theme of tapping in with your spiritual side, but the follow-up portrays a significant evolution in her artistic & spiritual journey. It’s significantly more mature than what she’s released in the past by fearlessly conveying the message that there’s no such thing as being blacklisted/blackballed & you don’t have to follow the same blueprint as everyone else.
This is the 5th full-length album from Santa Monica emcee, producer & singer/songwriter Earl Sweatshirt. Beginning his career in 2008 under the name Sly Tendencies as the son of Cheryl Harris & late poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, he posted a handful of tracks for a mixtape called Kitchen Cutlery on MySpace, but the tape would never be released to this day. Then he formed a rap trio with 2 of his friends called The Backpackerz & planned to release a mixtape together titled World Playground, but they disbanded sometime in 2009. Shortly after, he joined Odd Future & appeared on their 2nd & final mixtape Radical that May. 10 months later, he put out his only mixtape to date Earl with OF’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator producing a bulk of it. The tape received a lot of buzz, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. He was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his full-length debut Doris a decade ago to critical acclaim right before I started my junior year of high school for his clever rhyme schemes & the gritty production from The Neptunes to even the RZA. He then formed the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 & released his sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside. a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. Some Rap Songs not only wound up being my favorite album of 2018, but also the best work of Earl’s career as I look at it as the bastard child of one of my all-time favorites album: Madvillainy. But after dropping a small handful of SRS leftovers in the form of Feet of Clay through a new distribution deal Tan Cressida signed with Warner Records & then his full-length debut on the label Sick! about 2 & a half years ago, Earl’s enlisting one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist to speak the truth hence the Voir Dire title after a decade of working together. Especially since Earl coined the Uncle Al nickname.
“100 High Street” opens the album with some strings, kicks & snares so Earl can talk about how it wasn’t easy even though he’s a grown man now reaping everything he’s sowed in whereas “Vin Skully” goes for a more sample based groove remembering the cold & shrugging ’til he was sore inside the crib with a better understanding. “Sentry” featuring MIKE works in a crooning loop dropping bars like “Freddie Hubbard sing through the acts, chop another piece off the branch. “Memories careen out the past, halt me to a screech in they tracks” or “You remember I’m feelin’ like Aubrey. There ain’t real n***a higher involved than me, I was there on a small façade. No need actin’ surprised when you call me”, but then “All the Small Things” has a more delicate sound talking about holding your breath.
The mellower vibes of “My Brother, The Wind” from the synths & melodic sample are incredibly soothing dropping wig-flipping bars like “My brother, like Sun Ra, we all need you. Godspeed You! Black Emperor” leading into the bluesy boom bap hybrid “27 Braids” showing off exactly how many brains he’s rocking nowadays & referencing becoming a father himself couple summers ago. “Mac Deuce” gives off a more lusciously shimmery edge instrumentally filling all the vacancies like the brightest star just before blissfully drumless “Sirius Blac” comes out swinging with “Roc Marciano told you it don’t last, get you a snack. Photocopies of my shit hittin’ the net, n****s is ass. I nicked my hand on a backboard glass, shattered it like Shaq” explaining that only big fish surround their pond.
The song “Geb” talks about being the man over a heavenly beat with the standout bar to me personally being “It’s on tuck like Doubtfire, close as a secret. My mouth shut ’til the bag wired then I release” while the penultimate track “Dead Zone” flirts with death to curve em & watch him work bringing in these lavish piano chords starting his verse perfectly with “Have the pull-out like a flatbed, get it cracking like cueballs. Plastered on the wall like a fathead in a pool hall”. “Free the Ruler” couldn’t have been a better choice for a closer from the soulful chops to the lyrics talking about how “it’s not normal, but I swear this shit is regular”.
The streaming version of this LP contains 3 bonus cuts & I’ll go over them right now. “Heat Check” starts things off with heavy synthesizers admitting that he couldn’t cope with the dope fiend shit looking to leave on the highest note, but the remaining 2 both feature Vince Staples interestingly. The first of which “The Caliphate” goes for a cloudier sound getting on their abstract shit lyrically & the other “Mancala” concludes the bonus track portion of the album with pianos as Earl confesses he’d be remiss to try & go at least without a blick ’round him.
Despite the fact that Sick! is widely considered to be the uknowhatimsayin¿ of Earl’s discography, my expectations were already very high going into Voir Dire as someone who’s been listening to him since the Odd Future days & it is without a shadow of a doubt that it’s the best thing he’s done since Some Rap Songs. It will also go down as one of the best albums of his career & the strongest of the 3 projects we’ve gotten from him since the Warner deal. I literally have no complaints about it whatsoever from Al’s drumless jazzy production to the intricately abstract wordplay that Earl is known for.
This is the full-length debut album from up-&-coming Detroit rapper Veeze. Getting his start in 2019 off the strength of his debut EP Navy Wavy, he would go on to be featured on subsequent projects ranging from the likes of Babyface Ray to even Lil Yachty or more recently Chavo. So going into Ganger, my morbid curiosity got the best of me considering the strength of his feature run & the 4-year time gap since that last EP.
The synthesizers & hi-hats on the opener “Not Drill” are all well incorporated making way for Veeze letting y’all know this the real thing whereas “OverseasBaller” gives off more of a Detroit trap vibe talking about feeling like Dirk Nowitzki. “No Sir Ski” takes the atmospheric route instrumentally encouraging to cherish life before you lose that bitch, but then “You Know I” fuses g-funk with trap talking about being fresh as Hell.
“G.O.M.D. (Get Off My Dick)” has a more sample-based groove to it with the subject matter needing no further explanation just before “Sexy Liar” returns to the Detroit trap sound talking about liking the way it sounds when his girl caps to him. “Broke Phone” featuring LUCKI has a wavier feel to it as both of them saying fuck everybody pretty much leading into “7sixers” featuring Babyface Ray & Icewear Vezzo lacing these synths & hi-hats once again talking about their pockets getting fatter as their hearts grow colder referencing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk.
Moving on from there, “Robert De Niro” gives off a moodier trap feel calling out someone that ain’t a made man while the “Boat” interlude featuring Lil Yachty is more of an actual song & a good one at that finding the pair hopping over a Detroit trap beat in order to flex. “Tramp Stamp” goes into spacious territory talking about a hoe fuckin’ on a famous g while “Weekend” has a calmer trap tone to it declaring that this shit ain’t for the weak.
“Kinda $” brings back a moodier backdrop & layering these hi-hats over it acknowledging that this shawty knows he’s getting all kinds of paper while “Gaig” is a fun piano trap ballad going into detail about his expensive habits. “Who Da 1” fuses this jangly guitar lead & more hi-hats making it clear that you know who the fuck it is while “Unreleased Leak” blends trap with symphonic music talking about how the gang move & what crime does.
Meanwhile, “Lick” gets heavier with the synthesizers so dude can discuss having everything on him tonight hitting exactly that while “Safe 2” goes into a more stripped back direction talking about coming a long way. The penultimate song “Gangermatic” has a hazier instrumental this time thanks to Pooh Beatz venting that the streets be getting ugly & “Tony Hawk” officially ends the album on an acoustic trap note talking about continuing to grind. The “G.O.M.D. (Get Off My Dick)” remix featuring Lil Uzi Vert however serves as a bonus track & I happen to like it more than the original as dope as it is.
“Get LUCKI” starts the deluxe run by telling a bitch to give him head over synths & hi-hats while “Rich No Duh” returns to the Detroit trap sound referring to himself as the plug. “Luv the Tour” has to be my favorite bonus track of the 5 from the synthesizer-heavy beat that Evilgiane & Harrison of the Surf Gang deliver to the boisterous lyricism while the dreamy “Rich Rockstar” responds to the question of what his money looking like. “Amusing” finishes the Ganger deluxe by laying it out that y’all better be knowing what the fuck goin’ on over upbeat 808 percussion & synthesizers.
If you’re looking for a fresh new face in the Detroit trap scene, then you’re gonna want to give Ganger a listen because Veeze is most certainly in the same ranks as Face or DaeMoney & even the ShittyBoyz as one of the best artists that the 313 has seen in recent memory. He sounds recharged after taking 4 years off & more focused making way to properly introduce himself to a wider audience. On top of that, the feature list is consistent & the production is different for someone in his style.
This is the 3rd full-length album from British-American rapper, singer/songwriter & producer IDK. Beginning to make waves in the spring of 2014 off his first 3 mixtapes profile began to significantly increase in 2017 when he signed to Williams Street Records in order to put out a 4th tape IWasVeryBad to critical acclaim. He continued the grind by putting out a debut EP IDK & Friends as well as the full-length album Is He Real? & his 2nd EP IDK & Friends: Basketball County, but the sophomore effort USEE4YOURSELF a couple summers ago was very underwhelming. Simple. however fully produced by KAYTRANADA wound up being his strongest body of work to date & was enough to have me anticipate F65 over here.
“Cape Coast” is a jazzy opener to the album about keeping it inside sometimes yet still he cries whereas “Pit Stop” admits that the last time he shed a tear was when Prince passed away 7 years ago by now with a bouncy trap instrumental attached to it. Fat Trel tags along for “Thug Tear” blends some strings & hi-hats clarifying that it’s on sight because that’s exactly what you get when you slip 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock just before “Champs-Élysées” brings back the saxes & keys talking about still having to be on his hood shit when he’s on his boujee shit.
NLE Choppa’s contribution to “Salty” is underwhelming to say the least & the subject matter of making bitches bitter doesn’t really help despite the wavy trap production but after the “D.S.T.P.” interlude, “Mr. Police” works in a bare piano instrumental basically telling the feds to go fuck themselves. Jucee Froot & Saucy Santana both come into the picture for “Pinot Noir” obnoxiously sampling “My Neck, My Back (Lick It)” by Khia to deliver an mediocre ass-shaking anthem leading into “Paperchaser” talking about keeping the block hot over a reverberated beat.
“Elmina” with Tay Iwana almost as a bit of a more tropical flare to the beat making it clear that he wants to see his girl’s bodying grinding to the rhythm while “Georgetown” is a spacious boom bap ballad about being ready at anytime. “Radioactive” goes full-blown Philly club having the glocks on up with the switches & after the “Know” interlude, “Télé Couleur” fuses jazz with boom bap very well talking about his side & theirs’ never been symmetrical.
Meanwhile, “Rabbit Stew” has an intriguing dance break with a spacious instrumental discussing rather wanting to love this woman on the low while “We on Top / 850” starts off with some hi-hats & strings before later swapping out the strings with synths during the 2nd half switch-up as he & Rich the Kid talk about running shit. After the “Middle Passage” interlude, “Still Your Man” jumps on top of a bass guitar reminding that he even said at the beginning that his thoughts don’t change.
After the “St. Nicholas & 118th” interlude, the song “Up the Score” with Benny the Butcher finds both MCs calling out motherfuckers who be cooperating with the feds & that they simply tryna win out here over an orchestral beat while the penultimate track “Superwoman” is a lavish 7 minute pop rap ballad about knowing the woman of his dreams very well. “Freetown” however primarily comes off as an instrumental outro to the album with a spoken word bit at the backend of it.
Even though I still think that Simple. remains as the best thing that IDK has ever done respectfully, it’s worth noting that F65 at the end of the day will satisfy listeners for being a mature sequel to SubTRAP. The excessive amount of interludes are honestly annoying & a few performances from the features don’t quite stick the landing, but the concept of him creating a place to be free & honest where everyone is respected reminds me of the P.Y.U.N.E. concept of Tech N9ne’s 20th album Planet.
This is the 2nd EP from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Bktherula. Coming up 6 years back as a pop/R&B singer, she eventually broke out a few summers back in the plugg scene after dropping the single “Tweakin’ Together” produced by my lil homie Mars off her debut mixtape Love Santana. This resulted in her signing to Warner Records, following it up with her her sophomore tape Nirvana & the full-length debut Love Black. But after some delays, Bk’s back in effect for LVL5 here.
“TAN” is an explosive trap opener with Bk bragging about running the rap game whereas “DO IT AGAIN” works in some synths & hi-hats calling out someone she doesn’t even know for speaking on her character. “BACK” has to be my favorite joint on the album as things take a cloudier approach thanks to Evilgiane & Rafmade so she can fuck your hoe & rub it in your face just before “BELIEVE” comes through with an impressive R&B/trap ballad reminding listeners of her roots & her range.
Moving onto “CRAZY GIRL”, we have Bk over some more synthesizers & hi-hats to describe a bitch that don’t even know she’s the insane one prior to “NO ADLIB” is a shrilling yet rubbery trap cut about keeping a bad bitch & a stack on her along with having 1 in the head similar to Russian roulette. “Forever, Pt. 2 (Jezebel)” is another favorite from the light & melodic instrumental to the Destroy Lonely feature while the bombastic “PSSYONFT” talks about being the hardest bitch past 2022.
The penultimate track “?????” comes through with a more futuristic vibe whilst keeping some heavy bass in the fold as Bk boasts on the lyrical end until “We Made It” sends things off with Rico Nasty joining her for a celebratory yet pillowy closer to the album as they go back & forth with one another excellently proving why we need a collaborative project from them at some point down the line airing out those who hate on them yet wish they were in their shoes.
Been waiting on some new Bk for a while now & although LVL5 feels like an EP considering how short as Hell it is, it’s still an impressive body of work from her. The couplet of features both knock it out of the park as opposed the sole guest performance on the last album being mediocre & I really commend her for the album relatable theme of tapping in with your spiritual side & the small group under the angels that fight against your demons.
Saweetie is a 29 year old rapper & actress from Santa Clara, California who came up in the spring of 2018 off her debut EP High Maintenance. However, it wasn’t until later that fall when she started dating Quavo of the Migos where I really started paying attention. Her next 2 EPs ICY & Pretty Summer Playlist were ok, but maintained faith after “Best Friend” rightfully became the hit that it was. But with her full-length debut Pretty Bitch Music finally arriving next year, she’s preluding it in the form of her 4th EP.
“Don’t Say Nothin’” is a hyphy opener with Saweetie advising clout chasers on Twitter whereas “BO$$ CHICK” is a rubbery ode to boss lifestyle. “P.U.S.S.Y. (Powerful, Utopia, Supreme, Sacred, Yummy)” samples “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume in the same vein as the iconic Biggie single “Juicy” talking about female empowerment, but then “Handle My Truth” goes full-blown g-funk acknowledging that she never said she was perfect & asking if one can do such. The penultimate track “Memorable” returns to the hyphy sound talking about what it’ll take to be her lover & “No Reception” has a bit of a Neptunes influence to the instrumental admitting she’s been laying low for 9 months.
I really didn’t know how I felt going into this EP, if I came away from it considering it to be her best body of work to date. The production is respectfully versatile in sound & gives off a lot of charm with her performances go. Will most certainly have to check out Pretty Bitch Music whenever she decides puts it out in the upcoming year.
This is the 4th full-length album from Gary, Indiana emcee Freddie Gibbs. Coming up in 2004 with his debut mixtape Full Metal Jackit, he would then sign to Interscope Records for a brief period of time until he left without dropping an album with them. This was made up for with the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs & Str8 Killa No Filla, which would catch the attention of Jeezy & land Freddie a contract with CTE World in 2011. However, Gibbs eventually left CTE the following year after releasing the tapes Cold Day in Hell & B.F.K. (BabyFace Killa). In 2013, he decided to form his own label E$GN Records & finally dropped the full-length album E.$.G.N. (Evil $eeds Grow Naturally). He & iconic Oxnard producer Madlib would drop their MadGibbs debut Piñata the year after that, which is EASILY one of the greatest hip hop albums of the previous decade. Gibbs continued to grow his profile after that with Shadow of a Doubt, You Only Live 2wice, Freddie & the Curren$y collab EP Fetti & who can forget MadGibbs’ sophomore effort Bandana or even Freddie’s last effort Alfredo produced by The Alchemist? But after much anticipation, Gibbs is dropping $oul $old $eparately in light of E$GN’s new distribution deal with Warner Records.
“Can’t Be Done” is a soulful trap opener with Gibbs talking about doing the impossible whereas “Blackest in the Room” takes a jazzier route thanks to Uncle Al comparing himself to Sam Cooke. Offset tags along for the decent trap banger “Pain & Strife” talking about making that bread just before “Zipper Bagz” works in some hi-hats & a chilling vocal sample provided by KAYTRANADA admitting all he knows is that & yayo.
Meanwhile on “Too Much”, we have Moneybagg Yo coming into the picture to assist Gibbs for a boring trap cut that aged like milk since dropping as a single last month with all respect to everyone involved prior to Rick Ross & Jake One helping him make it up in the form of “Lobster Omelette” spitting lavish bars on top of a sample-based beat. “Space Rabbit” is a synth/boom bap hybrid produced by Boi-1da & Rogét Chahayed detailing Cocaine City, but then “Feel No Pain” with Anderson .Paak & Raekwon somberly prays that they good forever.
“Rabbit Vision” calls out someone who went against a family oath over some smooth J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production also admitting he still has love for Jeezy also while the DJ Paul-assisted “PYS” comes through with a jazzy trap banger talking about being pimps. “Dark Hearted” finds James Blake sonically fusing pop rap & hip hop soul admitting that he still has mob ties even though he’s rich now while “Gold Rings” with Pusha T of course spits that hustler shit over a nocturnal instrumental. The song “Grandma’s Stove” somberly opens up about depression while the penultimate track “CIA” by MadGibbs returns to jazzier turf making it clear that he needs the check & the bar mentioning him getting continuously banned from Instagram is priceless. “Decoded” however brings in one of Gibbs’ idols Scarface for a bluesy closer to the album hooked up by DJ Dahi talking about knowing that this rap shit was in their veins.
I’d still say The Elephant Man’s Bones is my Album of the Year, but this dude been talking about $.$.$. for nearly 3 years now & the final product is one of his best solo efforts to date in my opinion. A couple lackluster cuts here & there, but Gangsta Gibbs locks in with his niche on here by exposing his style to a wider audience without it being too excessive like a lot of other major label debuts can normally be.
IDK is a 29 year old British-American rapper, singer/songwriter & producer who broke out in the spring of 2014 off his debut mixtape Sex, Drugs & Homework. This was followed up with Subtrap & The Empty Bank, but his profile began to significantly increase in 2017 when he signed to William Street Records put out a 4th tape entitled IWasVeryBad to critical acclaim. He continued the grind by putting out a debit EP IDK & Friends as well as the full-length album Is He Real? & a 2nd EP IDK & Friends 2, but his sophomore effort USEE4YOURSELF last summer was very underwhelming. That being said, I was very much looking forward to his 3rd EP right here after learning that KAYTRANADA would be producing the whole thing.
“Drugstore” is a hip house opener about seeing that money talk & after the “Southeast to Paris” skit, Denzel Curry tags along for the jazz rap banger “Dog Food” with a fresh Lil Wayne interpolation during the hook. “Zaza Tree” returns to hip house turf & the hook here interpolates the late Soulja Slim very well.“Breathe” is a more atmospheric ballad talking about catching his breath leading into “Taco” incorporating some funky house influences settling some beef. Mike Dimes comes into the picture for the final song The Code” to discuss their #1 rules over a piano instrumental & “Paris to Southeast” ends the EP with yet another skit.
This is definitely much better than USEE4YOURSELF & I’ll even say that this is the crown jewel of IDK’s discography so far. Not only because he sounds incredibly laser-focused & comes through with some fantastic subject matter, but KAYTRANADA’s production is a breath of fresh air as it’s the most detailed it’s ever been on any project that Jay has put out previously.
NLE Choppa is a 19 year old rapper from Memphis, Tennessee who came up in 2018 off his debut mixtape No Love: The Takeover. However, it wasn’t until the following Christmas where his debut EP Cottonwood started to bring more attention to him & subsequently signed to Warner Records. He has since put out his full-length debut Top Shotta & his 2nd mixtape From Dark to Light since being on a major label but after spending last year doing features, Choppa’s returning in the form of his 3rd mixtape.
Things start off with the 6th installment of the “Shotta Flow” series which I understand is his biggest song, but it feels like him trying to get lighting to strike at the same spot over & over despite the energizing CashMoneyAP instrumental. Young Thug tags along for the triumphant “Push It” talking about having the game in a figure-4 leading into the money anthem “Jumpin’” which has a fresh woodwind instrumental & Polo G verse, but Choppa’s performances (especially the hook) are lifeless.
Meanwhile on “Trap Phone”, we have an atmospheric beat from Southside & some decent lyricism about hustlin’ just before “Final Warning” works in a blobby bass-line & some piano melodies for Choppa to send a message to his enemies. “I.Y.B. (If You Buck)”is a shameful bastardization of the classic Crime Mob single “Knuck If You Buck”, but then “Stompin’” ruins a cinematic beat with corny lines like “Fly like Peter Pan, bitch you know I’ve been a man. All black Batman with my n****s robbin’” & “Have you ever seen Mike with an Ike?”.
“Change My Ways” has a bit of a more orchestral with the help of OG Parker with more clever bars like “White boy with the ball in the cut, Tom Brady” whereas “Ima Dogg” comes off as a ripoff of the Gucci Mane joint of the same name. “Mmm Hmm” takes a more psychedelic route trying to talk about being on another level & even though I like the sample on “Still Hood”, the gangsta rap lyrics aren’t all that to me.
Internet Money brings in a more polished sound for “Drop Shit” detailing his take off while the barren “Chicago to Memphis” with G Herbo touches down on their gang lives. The song “Too Hot” with Moneybagg Yo sees the 2 spitting generic bars over a misty instrumental while the penultimate track “Lick Me Baby” comes off as a cringey sex ode. “Youngest to Do It” ends the tape on a more heartfelt note talking about his come up over a vocal loop.
Despite not being a fan of his previous work, I did find myself enjoying Me vs. Me a little bit more than I expected to. However, I’d say the high points are all mediocre at best. The production choices have definitely improved & most of the features come correct also, but the whole internal conflict concept of it keeps derailing itself as the tape goes on.
Legends Will Never Die 