The hip hop industry has made it mandatory to root for Meek Mill. Why not, right? He’s a young black male from Philadelphia that made it out of his hood by working his ass off, only to be derailed by what seems to be an unfair judicial system. For now, his legal issues have subsided, and that honeymoon period that followed his release has began to diminish. That means it’s time for him to draw us in with his music, and this mixtape is the first step. 

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TOP 5 2

 

2. STAY WOKE

Other than Nipsey Hussle slapping the hell out of some security guard, Meek’s “Stay Woke” performance was the biggest highlight of this year’s BET Awards.

Meek has been on his activist s**t as of late, and I’m all the way with it. In “Stay Woke,” he spits nothing but knowledge over this smooth instrumental, opting to keep his curse words and reckless ways at a minimum. I feel like the wise words he speaks are actually very constructive, despite it having this rebellious feel.

Miguel is also featured on the track, and he solidifies the soulfulness of it. To be honest with you, I didn’t care much for his contribution.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a rapper grow up as quickly as Meek has.

 

 

1. DANGEROUS

We all love when Meek Mill is on his temper tantrum s**t, but in all honesty, some of his biggest hits are the ones in which he talks about f**king with a girl. In “Dangerous,” Meek takes this successful formula to another level, giving us something that is smoother than a Klay Thompson jump-shot. It features both PnB Rock and Jeremih on the hook, and they set the tone with this sensual sound that gets you in that lovey dovey mood. From there, Meek takes over, dropping two pretty raw verses for us that has him fiending for the finer things that his woman is capable of providing. I say raw, and that is because he gets into explicit details of what he wants to do to his chick throughout (Sorta how he does on “Whatever You Want” from last year)

I’ma sucka for r&b/rap tracks like this.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. MILLIDELPHIA (3/5)

2. DANGEROUS (5/5)

3. 1AM (3/5)

4. STAY WOKE (4.8/5)

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OVERALL RATING

(C+)

 

While Meek has started making that transition from street rapper to activist in his music, you can tell he’s reluctant to let his old ways go — this results in a body of work that sorta contradicts itself throughout this album. Nonetheless, his rapping skills are still pretty solid, as he continues to provide fans with some of the most explosive bars you’ll hear in the game today.

On the real, I’m just happy to hear Meek spit again. When he raps, we listen, he just has that kind of effect on the mic. Let’s put that whole ‘Free Meek Mill’ stuff to bed and get back to the music, people.