First up on today’s album review is Maybach Music Group’s own Meek Mill with his recently released Dreams & Nightmares record. Fans of the Philly spitter have waited a long time to hear his debut, with countless features and two big mixtapes in the Dreams & Nightmares series. The youngin’ was blessed by Robert Williams himself, aka Rick Ross, who gave him the platform to become one of the hottest rappers out right now. But does all that promo translate into a good album? Lets find out.
1. Dreams & Nightmares – As far as intro goes this is one of the coldest I’ve ever heard. Reminds me of Jay-Z on The Dynasty Roc La Familia. The way he pulled it off though isn’t exactly new though. Basically Meek Mill just starts spitting some inspirational lyrics for the first couple minutes, getting fans amped for what might come next. Meek spits about all the things he’s done before releasing his first album, accomplishments such as recording with Mariah Carey and other legends. But once Meek Mill gets all the inspirational lyrics out of his heart, he starts snapping on the record like a man possessed. At one point Meek Mill starts yelling on the record, but manages to keep himself under control enough to get his point across. If he wanted to wake fans the heck up with the opening track, it worked.
2. In God We Trust – We’ve heard this song before. Not the exact song but a record that sounds like something that could have come from Lil Wayne, T.I.P, Rick Ross, or Young Jeezy. Meek Mill yells his way through the whole song as well, making it hard to listen too at certain points. It’s all good though.
3. Young & Gettin It ft Kirko Bangz – Either Drake was too busy to jump on Meek Mill’s “Young & Gettin It” or he’s trying to become the new Lil Wayne. Meek Milly recruits Houston’s own Kirko Bangz to kill the hook on the record while he spits some lethal verses. Meek goes back to talking about his fast cars that haters though were rented, chicks all over him, more money than you could ever imagine, and other luxuries that come with living the rap lifestyle. The song wouldn’t be bad if Meek actually got Drake to rap/sing on the hook instead of having Kirko Bangz rap just like Drizzy. The song also has single all over it which should tell you what he was thinking when he made it. Moving on.
4. Traumatized – Meek Mill gets rather deep on this record, speaking on his past and the things he had to live through to get where he’s at today. The stories he raps and the things he say don’t seem to be the same over the top bravado raps that seem to have gotten popular in rap music today. No tales of him locking down entire neighborhoods and moving snow like a Colorado ski resort, but rather honest tales of growing up with homies and fake friends. Meek also takes the time to send out some lyrical death threats to the people responsible for his father’s death, a stark reminder of the life he lived before blowing up.
5. Believe It ft Rick Ross – Meek hooks up with label boss Rick Ross to set off this track called “Believe It.” Off top you might be thinking about the single “I’m A Boss” which Meek Mill and Rick Ross also released, and you wouldn’t be too far from the truth. The beat is filled with bass and its the perfect canvas for Rick Ross to paint his tales of running the streets and selling control substances with nicknames of famous white actresses. “Sellin Miley Cyrus in my brand new Monte Carlo.” Believe me when I tell you this, you’ve heard this song before.
Overall this album is a solid debut, but not the homerun that MMG and fans wanted it to be. Meek Mill showed flashes of brilliance but felt lazy and repetitive on other tracks. It’s hard to say if Meek Mill has hit his peak or not but he certainly has room to grow. The best thing he can do now is focus on his craft and try to become a better artist and deliver good music to his fans. The worst move is for Meek Mill to get complacent and keep delivering the same tired old rhymes.
Justin Miller is a professional blogger that writes on a variety of topics including learning to play the guitar. He writes for JamPlay.com, a leading online music educator offering 2,000+ guitar chord songs in HD.
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