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Historically, album number five can be a difficult proposition for top-level MCs. Operating in this mid-career stage that can lead to an uninspired artistic malaise or a magnificent new chapter, the fifth record may be ‘decisive’ in determining whether their best days are behind them or whether they can be a lasting superstar. with a lot of wind left in their sails.
In some ways, this is understandable. After all, it must be hard to rack up that same fire when you’re a satisfied multimillionaire. But for others, it was an opportunity to reenergize themselves and their fans.
Where JAY-Z ostensibly used his fifth project to showcase his label’s talent with Roc La Familia: The Dynasty before stepping up a gear on album six, Eminem was heading for the door with Still. On the other end of the spectrum, Outkast has become a full-fledged powerhouse of Grammy Award-winning pop culture Album Of The Year with Speakerboxx / Love below. While for Kanye West, the fifth go-around yielded the sprawling, maximalist masterpiece that is My beautiful twisted dark fantasy.
From his unrestrained examinations of excesses and internal conflicts to the abstract cover art, it’s clear that Meek’s fifth album, Expensive pain, is aiming for something on the Kanye magnitude spectrum.
Although it served as a follow-up to what is widely considered his most accomplished project of 2018 Championships, Meek sought to argue that this is the project that will silence its detractors and magnify its position in hip-hop.
“I used to hear speculation that I don’t really know about music”, Meek informed Zane Lowe during a recent press interview. “I’ve been in this game for ten years, I felt like this was the year I really wanted mine because I sit alone in the studio with a producer and go to the ‘battlefield’ with the world, trying to remain a leading artist. “
On his latest project,Meek walks away from both the office of the CEO of Dreamchaser Record and the futile beef of social media, to argue that fame is as corrosive as anything else in life. Especially when the demons of the past are still living in you. And for the most part, he relays the message as convincingly as he can.
From the early stages of his career, Meek has a well-documented tendency to launch projects with both barrels on fire and Expensive pain turns out to be no exception. Just like the titular offering of Victories and losses served as the primer for what Meek is capable of, “Intro (Hate On Me)” is a shameless reminder of why he’s held in such a regard in the first place. Summoning fascinating bars on Cardo’s menacing and menacing reinvention of Nas and Puffy’s classic anthem “Hate Me Now,” Meek seems ready and willing to take on everyone. As the extended lyrical flex of “Outside (100 Mph)” follows suit, it’s evident that Meek hasn’t mellowed over the past year or so. On the contrary, he’s arguably become more tenacious and raps regularly as if his life depended on it during the course of the project.
WATCH: “Intro (Hate On Me)” Music Video by Meek Mill
Although you can’t really call it a concept album, Expensive pain is at its most essential point when it presents his newly charmed life as the kind of double-edged sword the hilt of the disc alludes to. By dispelling the idea of wealth as an antidote to past suffering, Meek gives us insight into the traumas, regrets, and unresolved grievances that resurface in his rare moments of stillness.
Immersed in thoughtful instrumental from Darko, Vianey OJ & DZL, the album’s title track is rightly the centerpiece. Free from ego or posture, he sees Meek recounting his steps, from rags to wealth, while poetically describing the state of ruin in which he left his head.
She saw me hug me with my stick, she said, “Dude, you need therapy”
And I can’t lie, sure I do, cause I still got nigga dreams that bring me on.
Message delivered with unreserved humility, this clarity comes back to “Love Money “when it unloads a neat summary of how your emotions can be your downfall on the streets and leave you” through in December “.
Meek doesn’t call him on at all The pain dear. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that her serious attempts to try something different always land on the good side of authenticity.
Where he dabbled in sound on previous efforts, this project sees Meek crossing the world of autotune in a more decisive and perhaps irreversible way. And sometimes it feels like concessions are being made to what is prevailing right now rather than to one’s own strengths.
“On My Soul”, with its atmospheric piano, sounds like an effort to infiltrate the track of Rod Wave and Roddy Richh which ultimately feels shocking, and although it does better on the less melodramatic “Love Train” it there is always a disconnecting overhang on many of these melodic moments.
In the case of “Ride For You” assisted by Kehlani, the duo seized the opportunity to tap into the model left by Ja Rule and Ashanti for an old-fashioned version halfway between hip-hop and R&B. Elsewhere, Meek and Lil Uzi Vert are part of a Philadelphia all-star team on “Blue Notes 2”, with Uzi playing Meek the ultimate compliment by pulling out of his usual pocket to rap on a rousing, blues guitar-laden instrumental from the long-time producer. Alex and Nick Papz.
From interpolating Blackstreet “Tweaking” with Vory to Boi-1da by dropping a murky instrument for Meek and A $ AP Ferg to unleash a relentless stream of bars on “Me (FWM)”, there is no shortage of instances where Meek shows his ability. to play well with others. In fact, it is this ability to find synergy with other artists that produces some of the highlights of the album.
On “Hot,” Meek and Moneybagg Yo dutifully bring their A-game to a monstrous beat that has all the meanings of being used as fighter walkout music and NFL entries for years to come. On the other side of the coin, the Thugger accompanied by “We Slide” appears to have a similar shelf life, albeit in the form of a bittersweet rumination on the life that shaped them.
LISTEN: Meek Mill’s “Hot” feat. Money bag Yo
Where tracks like Lil Durk and Lil Baby-aided “Sharing Locations” see Meek getting lost in the shuffle as he tries to mimic their flow, any momentary misstep is compensated for by the back-end of the disc.
Nine years after his untimely death, Meek examines the delayed mourning fuse during “Angels (Rip Lil Snupe)” and boldly unearths the moment he learned of his death, proclaiming that “I was high, I couldn’t have it. to feel. “
When Meek is in this meditative vein, his writing skills are laid bare and the album draws closer, “Halo” – which is accompanied by an otherworldly hook from Brent Faiyaz – presents Meek as stuck between languishing. for the life he once led and grateful that everything he has been through has definitely rewired his psyche, spitting out:
I’m trying to find the trust in my heart, but it ain’t working out well
I think I’m getting numb with the pain, cause it don’t hurt
I just wanna go to my hood, ride a dirt bike
And post on the block with those who think I forgot how we were
On these tracks, it is evident that Meek feels as confident in his abilities as when he was wear dreadlocks and rhyme effortlessly on Philadelphia street corners. As a result, it makes the moments on Expensive pain where is he trying appealing to the audience and sacrificing their own vision in the process, all the more frustrating. When he just says what he thinks he’s still captivating.
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