Album of the Year 2017 #18: 2 Chainz - Pretty Girls Like Trap Music - HipHop |
- Album of the Year 2017 #18: 2 Chainz - Pretty Girls Like Trap Music
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| Album of the Year 2017 #18: 2 Chainz - Pretty Girls Like Trap Music Posted: 18 Dec 2017 09:44 AM PST Artist: 2 Chainz Album: Pretty Girls Like Trap Music Listen: Album Background "It's always these beautiful girls who like this hustler – who you think would be attracted to a whole other type of music. But they like Migos, Future. You get with this girl, and you want to play Bryson Tiller. But she's like, "I want to hear Gucci." Shit. We're the pop stars. Trap rap is pop now. People's ears have adjusted to what we have to say and how we say it." -2 Chainz, Rolling Stone interview, June 2017
In July of this year, it was reported that hip hop and R&B music had officially surpassed rock 'n' roll as the most popular genre of music in the United States. Personally, I feel like rock had already been dethroned years ago and that rap's dominance was only now made apparent by the implementation of streaming into the Billboard charting system, but nonetheless the shift has sparked debates over the relevance of the musical styles of generations past with millennials who, having grown up with rap and adjusting to it at a young age in a way their parents hadn't, have essentially claimed the genre as the music of their generation. In the same way that my father's generation chose Elvis and the Beatles over Frank Sinatra and the like, someone like 2 Chainz could be argued to have a more powerful hold on the youth culture of today than anyone with a guitar.
Like most people, my first experience with the man born Tauheed Epps was the Lil Wayne featuring "Duffle Bag Boy", though as it was credited to Playaz Circle I didn't realize it at the time. The rapper formerly known as Tity Boi made the shift to 2 Chainz not long thereafter, and by the time he released his T.R.U. Realigion mixtape in 2011 he was certifiably one of the hottest up-and-coming rappers in the world, a full decade and half after he'd started his career. The year after he released his major label debut Based on a T.R.U. Story, a platinum selling album in a pre-streaming era (no easy feat) with three major hit singles. History would dictate that Mr. Chainz would be able to ride off the success of this album to further hits and commercial viability in the years to come, and while his string of golden features on others' tracks continued to flourish, his own solo material began to falter. B.O.A.T.S. II was released one year after its predecessor but sold less than half as many copies and failed to produce a top 40 single. For the next few years Tity released a few mixtapes and EPs, along with a collaborative project with Lil Wayne, but nothing seemed to resonate with audiences like his material in the early part of the decade had.
Suddenly, however, it became apparent that as trap music became more and more engrained into the mainstream consciousness, so too did 2 Chainz's popularity begin to get a second wind of sorts. This is adeptly referenced in the title to his third studio album Pretty Girls Like Trap Music: it's a testament to how far rap has come in its mission of taking over the airwaves in recent years and how, while the young women of yesteryear's generation may have been more enamored with artists who were strictly pop, the more melodic style of trap music that has infiltrated the game this decade has taken pop's place as the go-to music for the youth.
The general consensus surrounding 2 Chainz up until now was that he worked better as a feature and/or "punchline" rapper than a legitimate album artist. 2 Chainz perhaps recognized that, having fallen from his peak hype levels in the first half of the decade, he needed to put out something truly special to keep people interested in his music. As such, he chose to downplay the more humorous aspects of his verses on Pretty Girls and instead focus on the grittier, drug dealing aspects of his upbringing, along with the usual foray into pussy, money, weed and braggadocio that is almost a requirement for mainstream rap nowadays. He enlisted the help of prior collaborators Mike Will Made-It and Honorable C.N.O.T.E. to provide beats, alongside newcomers such as Murda Beatz and Buddah Bless and industry legends like Pharrell and Mike Dean, amongst others. There's also a "who's who" of 2017 mainstream rap on the features list, with Drake, Migos, Travis Scott, Swae Lee, Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, Ty Dolla Sign and others all making appearances. He also utilized a unique promotional tactics for the record: he rented a "trap house" in Atlanta that he had painted completely pink and donned it with the album's logo on the front, and also ran a "trap salon" for girls to get their nails done with song titles inspiring the designs.
Pretty Girls ended up becoming one of the biggest sleeper hits of the 2017 summer rap season. It sold over 100,000 album equivalent units in its first week in the United States and garnered 2 Chainz the highest critical praise he had received in his career up to that point. Less than 3 months after its release, it had been certified gold, his first RIAA certified record since his platinum selling debut. Pretty Girls has produced a run of hit singles that were mainstays on rap stations this year, and the album has been considered nothing but a success for Mr. Chainz.
But is it actually any good?
Review Pretty Girls Like Trap Music begins with a few rapid piano hits and, ironically enough, a blazing guitar line that would be feel more at home in the rock music that trap artists like 2 Chainz had helped displace at the top of the charts. Tity uses the opener to reminisce about his past and the things he's done to get him to where he is today. The subject matter fits the Mike Will production nicely and overall this serves as a great way to start the album off.
The title of the following track "Riverdale Rd" is a reference to a street in Atlanta, 2 Chainz's hometown. The beat almost sounds like a trap reinterpretation of the Psycho soundtrack, courtesy of DJ Mano. Similar to the song preceding it, Tity makes reference in his lyrics to his younger days of hustling and drug dealing and how it contrasts with his life in the present day. This is undeniably one of the hardest tracks on the album.
"Good Drank", the first official single that had previously appeared on 2016's Hibachi for Lunch mixtape, follows next. This was the first song I'd heard off the project and it quickly became an obsession, mostly due to the damn near perfect synth lead that opens the song. The patented Mike Dean Magic™ is all over this thing: a beautiful concoction of drums and melodies that stick to your ear and refuse to leave. 2 Chainz's verse follows the standard for what the majority of the album's content will ultimately consist of: money, cars and drug dealing. Quavo's hook is infectious (the "Nooo-ooo-ooo" melodies following the "no hot box" line are great in particular) and Gucci's verse, while nothing spectacular, fits with the track.
The Travis Scott-featuring "4 AM" follows, with production from 2017's most breakout producer Murda Beatz. Placing this woozy instrumental directly after "Good Drank" was a solid move as they almost feel like compliments to one another. Tity harkens back to the past again, "reminiscing 'bout the trap, playin' the first Carter" and references the projects he's put out since B.O.A.T.S. II, namely a series of EPs and his collaborative project with Lil Wayne from the year before. La Flame's performance on the chorus is pretty standard for him but given how awesome he generally is on hook duty this isn't really a complaint. Could've benefitted from an actual verse from Travis but this is solid nonetheless.
"Door Swangin'" boasts the first of four Buddah Bless productions on the album. Pretty standard trap stuff on this one, both in terms of lyrics and music. The running theme of the album seems to be drug dealing first and foremost and that stays true here. The strings that come in from time to time sound really good too, but overall this one comes off as just decent.
The Nicki Minaj collaboration "Realize" follows next. To be honest, it's getting difficult to write anything significant about 2 Chainz's lyrics at this point. They fit the production and his voice and presence is commanding as ever, but the topics stick almost exclusively to talking about drugs, cars, money, etc, which can become tedious to write about after a while. The line at the end of his verse taking a shot at mumble rap was admittedly hilarious, though. Nicki's hook goes well with the chilled out vibe of the production and her verse isn't too bad either. Not incredible but it gets the job done.
With "Poor Fool" Mike Will Made-It continues to prove why he is in the upper echelon of hip hop producers at the moment with keyboard plinks in the beat that sound like a malfunctioning children's toy and brooding synth lines underneath. Swae Lee hops on the chorus and it's one of the best on the record, further cementing himself as one of the best go-to rappers for a hook right now. Swae and Chainz reference how their mothers reacted to their sons dealings in the street, even though the money they would have been earning through their hustling ways was what was helping to keep food on the table. All in all this shit bangs; a definite highlight.
"Big Amount" originally dropped on 2 Chainz's 2016 mixtape Daniel Son; Necklace Don and the success of the track prompted him to include it on Pretty Girls as a bonus track for the digital version. Buddah Bless's contribution is significantly better than the preceding "Door Swangin'": as far as I can tell, this was one of the first contributions to the flute rap trend that wound up dominating most of 2017. Some of Chainz's best lines on the album end up here (the "Shawty ride like an equestrian" line kills me every time) and Drake's contribution works really well too. A solid track all around.
Arguably the biggest single off the album, "It's a Vibe" was a staple on hip hop stations this year and it's not hard to see why. Murda Beatz's smooth mid-paced production features irresistible guitar licks and 2 Chainz flows over it flawlessly, lending one of his best verses on the album to this track. Ty Dolla Sign, Trey Songz and Jhene Aiko provide vocals to flesh things out. In comparison to the other singles I'd probably take "Good Drank" and "4 AM" over this one, but that just comes down to personal preference; it's still a chill ass song regardless.
Honorable C.N.O.T.E. provides an absolutely gorgeous backdrop on "Rolls Royce Bitch", once again employing the use of guitar. Next to "Good Drank" and two other tracks to be mentioned later, this may be my favorite beat on the entire record. Tity starts the track telling the listener to believe in themselves first and foremost and if they they can make their dreams come true. The rest of the record is spent describing his wealth and how he came to acquire it. This is an absolute pleasure to listen to and an easy highlight.
"Sleep When U Die" is another Buddah Bless production; this one sounds closer to "Door Swangin'" than "Big Amount". Tity compares his clothing to Ric Flair's and his hair to James Brown's. Pretty standard trap here; nothing more to say.
Without even realizing it I sort of knew instinctually that "Trap Check" was probably a Buddah Bless beat before I checked the production credits, and sure enough that turns out to be the case. Again, this stuff is pretty middle-of-the-road as far as 2017 trap goes until the last 30 seconds, where the beat switches to the furious horns of T.I.'s "ASAP", a welcome switch-up that finishes the track off nicely. More of the same content from Tity on the lyrical side of things, though the "I ain't talkin' Nike when I'm talkin' bout a check" line always manages to get a smile out of me.
"Blue Cheese", featuring rap's hottest trio at the moment, boasts what is arguably the best beat on the entire album. K Swisha laces the track with a bed of hypnotizing synths that completely envelop the listener; the effect always gives me a feeling of being underwater for some reason. Quavo's chorus here is just as irresistible as "Good Drank" was and everyone plays their part to make the song a success. There is one complaint to be made with this track, however: Tity only gets one 45 second verse at the start with Quavo, Offset and Takeoff dominating the rest of the cut. It feels more like a Migos song featuring 2 Chainz than the other way around, which is disappointing given it's supposed to be a 2 Chainz album, but I digress.
Tity decides to go on an "OG Kush Diet" on the next track to cope with the death of his close friend (at least for the chorus, anyway; the verses revert back to his usual braggadocios, materialistic style). Production on this one is decent to start, but things change halfway through where the beat has a reggae-tinged switch-up to keep things interesting. The pitch shifting on 2 Chainz's voice at the end of the track is a nice touch also.
Next we've got the Pharrell Williams-produced "Bailan", and goddamn this shit is smooth! 25 years on and Skateboard P is still a genius behind the boards. This goes over a lot better than their previous collaboration "Feds Watching": whereas that cut felt like a misguided attempt at Pharrell adjusting himself to 2 Chainz's typical production style, the roles are reversed on this cut and, surprisingly enough, Tity sounds great over this despite it being a lil outside of his usual territory when it comes to production choices. A full length 2 Chainz-Pharrell collaboration would be more than welcome if the results stay consistent with this one.
The album saves the best for last with "Burglar Bars", a poignant cut that feels more "traditionally" hip hop than anything else on the record. Near the end of the song Tity describes it as "soulful trap music" and his assertion couldn't be any more on point. It's a beautifully produced gem of a track from M16 and Mike Dean, sampling Barbara Jean English's "You're Gonna Need Somebody to Love You", with Monica providing backing vocals along with the intro and a closing verse. 2 Chainz's lyrics are still drug and money-focused, but he also intersperses references to his contemporaries and reflects on how far his rap career has come. All in all, it's a wonderful closer, and if it's a sign of things to come (considering 2 Chainz has been working on music with 90's era legend Q-Tip as of late) then I'm all for hearing what Mr. Chainz has up his sleeve next.
Is Pretty Girls Like Trap Music the best album of the year? Not for me, personally, but having grown up listening to guys like Jay and Em in my early years and getting into underground/conscious/backpack stuff in my teens I'll probably always be more inclined towards something that's more lyrically focused anyway. Nonetheless, I can definitively say as someone who's critical of a lot of the trap that comes out nowadays this was a pleasure to listen to.
I've heard some complain about the lack of humor that was prevalent in 2 Chainz's earlier projects compared to this, and admittedly, as I started reviewing this album, I found it to be increasingly difficult to find anything to really say about 2 Chainz's bars on this one. They all revolve around the usual trap-standard subject matter that one expects from a 2 Chainz record, and after awhile it can be hard to say something new or original about them. His flow and his presence are still more than intact and lyrics aren't a huge point of emphasis for me when listening to this kind of music anyway; plus, tracks like "Burglar Bars" show that Tity doesn't need to do his usual funnier style to pull off some solid verses. It's obvious that he wanted to use Pretty Girls as his chance to show people that he isn't just a punchline rapper and that he can be serious about his music when he chooses to be.
Like most trap albums, the real highlight of the record is the production, and in this regard Pretty Girls is typically fantastic. Aside from some uninspired Buddah Bless productions everything on the record is extremely memorable and endlessly creative: the excellent guitar lines on "Saturday Night", "It's a Vibe" and especially "Rolls Royce Bitch", the nightmarish feel of "Riverdale Rd" and "Poor Fool", the indelible melodies of "Good Drank" and "4 AM", the smooth ecstasy of "Blue Cheese" and "Bailan", and capping the album off with the epic "Burglar Bars", the songs are expertly produced and really lend themselves to making the record what it is.
This was my first experience with a 2 Chainz project so I'm not totally sure how it compares to his other work, but if this is a sign of things to come, I'm very excited to hear what else he does in this lil "late career renaissance" he's got going on right now.
Favorite Songs
Favorite Lyrics "Shawty ride like an equestrian" -Big Amount "I give a fuck about thesaurus rappers" -Burglar Bars "Used to drive a Porsche 'til I found out it was made by Volkswagen" -OG Kush Diet Discussion Questions • Do you feel like the album would have been better if 2 Chainz had used his more humorous style more often? • How does 2 Chainz compare with other rappers in their late 30s and beyond who are still putting out music today? • How would you like to see 2 Chainz progress with his next record? Tomorrow we'll have u/vulcan24 writing about Death Grips' "Steroids" EP [link] [comments]  |
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