MissInfo.TV attended the listening session of Meek’s upcoming album, and had the chance to write a brief summary and post a video taken at the event. Check the clip above, and hit the jump to get the rundown in Mikey Fresh’s words.
It’s been a long time coming for Philly’s Meek Mill. The City of Brotherly Love may have been up on the kid EARLY but it took years for the rest of the world to catch on. With his scrappy flow and ghetto soldier aura, Meek has become one of the few new rap stars still making music that embodies the streets. Hov coined the phrase “DMX’d the game” and Meek is doing just that.
In a landscape where it pays more to be a weirdo in hip-hop than Tupac, the young bull is a diamond in the rough. His debut album reflects the tough life he faced, which included time in jail, friends being killed, and other life ills associated with living in the hood.
Dreams & Nightmares starts off strong with Meek spitting lyrics reflective of the latter half of the title. The young bull goes off on “In God We Trust” and really hits home on “Traumatized.” If you’re are a fan of “Used to Be” than I guarantee you’ll appreciate that song. Production wise the majority of the records are “pounding” and match Meek’s rapid-fire delivery. “Believe It,” featuring Rick Ross is destined to do damage in the club. The MMG boys trade bars and incorporate some slick pop references that just work. Let’s just say there’s no question about Ross being a Belieber.
"Rejex" is a new mixtape released from the new artist, Joey Bada$$. Joey is a new guy coming out of Flatbush in Brooklyn who happens to be only 17 years old. He recently hit the scene and hit it hard. First time hearing Joey Bada$$ was on Mac Miller's "Macadelic" on the song "America". I personally didn't think much about this feature, just thinking it was some no-name guy who landed an opportunity to be on a bigger artist's mixtape. He later dropped the critically acclaimed mixtape "1999" (my favorite piece of work this year, and one of my favorite mixtapes of all time) and has been buzzing ever since. "Rejex" is a compilation of tracks that didn't make the cut for "1999" (hence the name "Rejex"). Joey has said that there is no new material on this tape, and even went on to call it "garbage" via Twitter. Well, Joey, I beg to differ, because I think its far from garbage. Most of the songs are fairly short, about 2 minutes a piece. There are some songs that were recorded a few years ago, when he was only 15 years old (Little Rachel, Silent Night) which is nearly unbelievable, considering the lyrical content of these tracks. On the tape there's even an added verse on Killuminati, which was on "1999". Joey's flow feels like a breath of fresh air if you enjoy that "East Coast Hip-hop" feel. Throughout the entire mixtape, Joey throws some witty jokes at you, along with some lines that might go over your head if your not listening hard enough. Overall this is a solid mixtape with no concept. Even my least favorite tracks on here have some replay value to me. And when you consider these are tracks that didn't make the cut for the real deal, you realize why there is a ton of potential around Joey Bada$$. If you listened and enjoyed "1999", then this will just be icing to the cake, a nice added bonus.
Rating: 7/10
Favorite Tracks: Update, This Feeling, Da Special List
Least Favorite Tracks: oG Killuminati, Pantie Raid, That Gushy
written by: ACMillionaire
Back in 2007, 2 Chainz, who was then known as Tity Boi, was in a group called the Playaz Circle, and was signed to Ludacris' DTP label. After having a relatively large hit with Playaz Circle, called Duffle Bag Boy, which featured Lil' Wayne, the rapper kinda went cold. However, that all changed when he dropped his T.R.U. REALigon mixtape back in 2011. He has since then flooded the airwaves with features, went on to tour doing over 120 shows, all of which led up to him inking a deal with Def Jam, while being G.O.O.D. Music "affiliated" as he likes to say. This album is probably the second most anticipated debut hip hop album of the year, second to Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. The first words you hear on the album are none other than 2 Chainz's daughter saying "yuck daddy yuck". In the hip-hop world, where bad can mean good, with that being said, this album is good, or "yucky". If you liked his T.R.U. REALigon mixtape there's really no reason you shouldn't also be able to get into this album. With lines like "I wish a ni**a would like a kitchen cabinet", you can't help but laugh, lines like this are so corny, that I can't not like them. His ear for beats and making catchy hooks are really his golden ticket though, most songs only take one listen to get them stuck in your head (after the first listen, I had to run I'm Different back). If he's not even taking himself seriously why should I? This is the kinda music that you can play while you're getting ready to go out or you want some background noise while you clean up your apartment. The chemistry between him and The Dream on Extremely Blessed comes off sounding natural and not forced, giving him another advantaged over other rappers who make this type of music, being able to make a "sex/love" song that actually works (Plies is the first person who comes to mind who gets away with being a trapper and being exceptionally freaky). The album isn't all pure greatness though, on the Scarface and John Legend assisted track Ghetto Dreams I'm not really feeling the production which makes it impossible for me to get into the song (which sucks because I usually love John Legend singing on hooks). This album is formatted very well out of 13 tracks, I would say seven could be released as singles. Three out of the remaining six have some moderate replay value as well with that being said, this is a pretty good debut from the ATLien, I'd give it a 7/10.
Favorite Tracks: Dope Peddler, No Lie, I'm Different, Extremely Blessed, In Town
Least Favorite Tracks: Ghetto Dreams, Wut We Doin, Stop Me Now
written by, @LUSHnLUSTnoLOVE
You can purchase Based On A T.R.U Story here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/preorder/based-on-t.r.u.-story-deluxe/id548323454
