Here’s how I see it: BlocBoy JB has had two pretty damn good singles in “Rover 2.0” and “Look Alive,” but I’m still not sold on him being a mainstay in the hip hop game. Not only does he sound like your average trap rapper, but something about his style screams out ‘I rap for fun’, to me. So what’s the best way to prove people like myself wrong? To drop a full length project that shows the world that he’s more than capable of separating himself from the rest of the pack. Do you think my harsh opinion changes after listening to “Simi?”

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TOP 5

 

5. GOOD DAY

“Good Day” is short but sweet. I love the songs rhythm, and I feel like BlocBoy JB was able to catch the listeners attention through this repetitive rapping style that never lets up in catchiness. As for his content, it is hood inspirational, but also keeps its reckless roots. That is always the best formula to use when making a standard trap song.

 

 

4. NIKE SWOSH

I’m actually surprised rappers don’t use the line “Just Do It” more in their raps… it’s a clever sick ass catch phrase.

“Nike Swoosh” is a lot of fun to listen to. Much like 95% of the songs on the album, it has this amped up club sound production-wise — one that fits both YG and BlocBoy JB perfectly.

I actually enjoy the way BlocBoy is rapping on this song. I feel like he shows this aggression lyrically that wasn’t quite present on his other songs, and this sarcasm that tells me he’s capable of showing some wit as an artist.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that YG can be a very gimmicky trap rapper when he wants to be, and I think that is why people from all coasts f**k with him. On this song, he raps very similarly to the BlocBoy JB’s of the world, and it happens to sound all the way natural.

Between this song and “She Bad,” YG is slowly turning into the poster boy for ratchetness.

 

 

3. NUN OF DAT

Who else was expecting to get hit with some serious knowledge on this song?

Blocboy JB and Lil Pump are two rappers that simply don’t want to be bothered, and they are letting the world know this on “Nun of Dat.” As expected, the instrumental they rap over is menacing, the hook is simple as s**t, and there is a lot of ‘sticking out of thine chest’ by both Blocboy JB and Lil Pump on it.

Lowkey, Lil Pump kills this s**t! He flows really well on his verse, and actually drops a few competitive bars that sounded very respectable, to me. I peep the improvement, young sir!

Do I smell a collaboration album coming?

 

 

2. ROVER 2.0

It’s not the beat, the lyrical content or ad-libs that makes this song great,  it’s the start and stop flow that BlocBoy JB raps with on the hook that is everything. I feel like it is easy as hell to rap-a-long to, and you know how much listeners like when rap tracks exude crowd participation.

21 Savage is on everybody and their mama’s song these days, but there is only a few in which I think he’s a perfect fit; this is one of them. Not only does his sly/numbing tone fit the laidback instrumental perfectly, but I also feel he’s at his best when he’s rapping with a slow pace. In other words, when he reminds you that he didn’t graduate from high school, he’s one of the top rappers in the game.

Some argue that “Rover” is better than “Look Alive;” I say they both sound the same.

 

 

1. LOOK ALIVE

I know you guys are fed up with me picking these artists’ singles as their number one song for my top 5’s, but hey, it’s a first single for a reason, right?

Let’s keep it real: “Look Alive” is actually Drake’s song. He sets the tone of it with this highly infectious hook, drops a fire ass verse that reminds you of the ones he dropped on “Versace” and “Tony Montana,” and probably prompted radio stations worldwide to play it simply because of his presence on it. If you ask me, all Blocboy had to contribute to this song was a measly verse and gutter feels. Tops, Blocboy put in 2 hours of work. Nonetheless, this track is one of the few mainstream songs that both the hood and country clubs of the world can get hyped to.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. TURNT UP (4/5)

2. LOOK ALIVE (5/5)

3. NUN OF DAT (4.6/5)

4. GOOD DAY (4.5/5)

5. LEFT HAND (4/5)

6. ASIAN BITCH (3.9/5)

7. ROVER (4.8/5)

8. SHOOT (3.5/5)

9. WAIT (3/5)

10. NIKE SWOOSH (4.5/5)

11. MAMACITA (3.6/5)

12. MEXICO (3.8/5)

13. NO VELCRO (3.8/5)

14. LEFT RIGHT (3.7/5)

15. NO CHORUS, PT. 11 (4.1/5)

16. STRAIGHT DROP (4.2/5)

17. FEATURE (3.7/5)

18. OUTRO (3.5/5)

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OVERALL RATING

(6.3/10)

 

Let me start off by saying this: Blocboy JB has some of the most elementary rhymes i’ve ever heard in my life. On nearly every song, he sounds like he’s reading off of a blurry ass paper. This reminds me that a dumbed down sound has its place in hip hop today, and there’s nothing J.Cole can do about it.

Maybe I have a near lethal amount of wax in my ear, but if you ask me, every single beat on this project sounds similar to one another. They each have this horror film like trap sound attached to it that I can envision a modern day undertaker walking out to before a wrestling match. If this project only had 11-12 songs with the same type of beat, cool, but 18 is way too much..

Everyone featured on this album put up some really good verses. I feel like BlocBoy JB brings out this trillness in each artist, prompting them to deliver some pretty hard verses on their respective songs. I think that this is the best thing about the mixtape.

So has my opinion about BlocBoy changed? No. He did nothing at all to show me he can be a dynamic artist on this mixtape. Content-wise, I learned nothing, and as I stated earlier, his lyrics were too dumbed down and stale for my liking. I get it, he has a formula that has been successful and all, but when that formula contains saying nothing of relevance, rapping over the same beats, and showing little to no relatability, in my opinion, it’s a broken one.