Meek Mill has gotten into quite a bit of legal trouble since his last album, Wins & Losses. There was a lot of controversy surrounding his arrest as many thought that the court system treated him unfairly. Needless to say, Meek Mill is free and is back to doing what he does best: making hard music. He was picked up from jail by Philadelphia 76ers (now former) GM Bryan Colangelo and Kevin Hart and he got to ring the bell before the Sixers game. I was looking forward to hearing his EP even though I found his last album to be pretty average.
Since this is an EP review, I'm just going to give my thoughts on each track and give a score.
1) Millidelphia (feat. Swizz Beatz) - Swizz Beatz's vocal contribution was mostly ad-libs but he provided some nice production that fits Meek's sound very well. This is one two tracks on this EP that reference his court case. It's especially shown in these lines:
"They was screaming free Meek, now Meek free, judge tryna hold me"
"Cops try to put me on the north side of Philly 'cause I'm still popping wheelies like what"
I also really liked the chanting of "Meek" throughout the track, especially this clever line, which references one of the Beatitudes from the Bible:
"Who shall inherit the earth? Meek"
It's a good song.
2) Dangerous (feat. Jeremih x PnB Rock) - Oh look, it's the dreaded R&B cut that always seems to be the weakest track of any Meek Mill record. Sonically, this song is pretty decent. Hitmaka provides some smooth production and I like the drums. The chorus from both Jeremih and PnB Rock is pretty nice. However, the verses were what brought the track down. The only verse I didn't have a problem with was Jeremih's, as this sound suits him the best. Meek's first verse was a little off-beat and proves why he's terrible at making softer songs. His voice is way too abrasive for this type of music. I was especially disappointed with PnB Rock's verse. It was barely understandable as every word was slurred. If it weren't for Genius, I would be struggling to understand his mumble-singing. This was the only track that I thought was bad.
3) 1am - This was by far my favorite on this EP. Jahlil Beats does a great job providing some hard production. Meek's hook was by far the catchiest on the whole EP. Meek's flow throughout both of the verses was great and I also found this line to be pretty funny:
"I won't hit it raw, we ain't goin' to Maury"
4) Stay Woke (feat. Miguel) - This was released as a single following Meek's release but I never talked about it on here. This is a very powerful track. While we have heard and known about oppression towards African Americans in the court systems and in general, this track shows that we don't truly understand it. Miguel's chorus summarizes the plight of African Americans throughout history perfectly. As for the verses, Meek gets very personal and opens up about his court case and his past and how he has changed over time.
In conclusion, I thought that this EP was a perfect balance between hard bangers and personal cuts. This would be flawless without "Dangerous." I'm gonna give this one an 8/10.
Part 2: Future - BEASTMODE 2
Future is 34 years old and not slowing down. He has been heavily involved with 5 projects in the past two years alone. The only rapper who puts in more work than Future is Gucci Mane. Lately, however, his success has been dwindling. A few weeks back, his 3-year streak of appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 was snapped as his single with Yung Bans, "Bag," failed to chart and "King's Dead" went recurrent. His soundtrack for the movie SUPERFLY, despite how much I enjoyed it, ended up flopping sales-wise, just like the movie. Before the release of the soundtrack, Future announced that he and Zaytoven were working on this project, and hinted at it dropping fairly soon after. He only hinted at a release date when he tweeted about it the day before and he ended up dropping it minutes before midnight on Thursday night. The first Beastmode tape is widely considered one of his best projects, so I was looking forward to what he would do for the sequel.
Positives
Zaytoven is one of the best producers in hip-hop right now. He is an absolute maestro on the piano and he and Furue work very well together. Unlike his two albums from last year, which were 17 tracks apiece, this one is a very concise 9 tracks and 31 minutes. One of Future's strong suits is hooks and for the most part, they sound nice on this project, especially on "Doh Doh," "When I Think About It," and "Some More."
Negatives
This is more of a minor complaint, but I'm pretty sure Zaytoven has other tags. Hearing the same high-pitched "ZAYTOVEN" before the start of every track gets annoying after a while. Future also doesn't switch his flow after the hook most of the time, making some tracks pretty boring. This project is too consistent as it blends together so well, most of these tracks sound the same.
Features
Only one artist was featured on this project.
Young Scooter (Doh Doh) - I was glad to see a feature to break up the monotony of the first half of this tape and I thought his verse was pretty nice. I found this track to be one of the better cuts on here.
Best Tracks
1) Cuddle My Wrist - The hook on this track is just the right amount of repetitive, which in this case sounds like something that's catchy and doesn't go on for too long. The refrain of this song is also pretty great. Future flows very well on this track.
2) Doh Doh (feat. Young Scooter) - This was my favorite track on the entire project. Zaytoven's production, which samples the theme from the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye, is by far the hardest on this tape. The hook on this song is by far the catchiest, Future's flow on the second verse was amazing, and Scooter didn't do a bad job himself.
3) When I Think About It - This song details the downsides of Future's fame and addresses the money he'll leave for his children when he dies. It's one of his more personal tracks on this project.
Worst Track
31 Days - This track was by far the most boring. The hook drags for way too long and includes this gem of a lyric:
"I fucked her and made her pee"
Conclusion
For the most part, I find this project to be pretty okay. There weren't many tracks that stuck out to me like the highlights of his previous ones.
Score: 6/10
Out of the 5 projects from the past two years, I'd say this is the weakest one, close behind HNDRXX.
I'll be back to my usual posts next week, starting with my latest playlist additions on Monday.
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