Review Summary: 7 snippets of what’s to come
Lil Nas X’s debut EP,
7, isn’t an amazing project by any means, or even a truly great one. The songs don’t have a ton of substance, and their runtime leaves them with a bit more of something to be desired. However, it’s tellingly a stopgap release: something put out to keep audiences interested while showcasing that Lil Nas X can prove he has more gas in the tank than “Old Town Road”.
The rock-influenced production on “F9mily” and “Bring You Down” is already unique, and while the songs themselves don’t feel like they’ve really been fleshed out, the ideas behind them do show promise to be improved on in the future with better and more well-developed material. In addition, “Rodeo” is a return to the country-rap style that made audiences love him so much, with a feature from rapper Cardi B. “Rodeo” and “Panini”, while not being the immediate bangers that “Old Town Road” was (although few songs will ever be), are the most accessible songs on
7, and they’re what I feel are the most likely songs on the EP to follow in that song’s footsteps.
I was somewhat scared that Lil Nas X would be a Desiigner part two: he’d come out of nowhere, put out an incredibly massive hit, yet disappoint with his debut project and then fade into near-obscurity. While I can’t predict the future, I feel Lil Nas X has the creativity and the mass-market appeal to bypass the “one-hit wonder” stigma - even though “Old Town Road” may as well have been a one-time event you just had to be there for. Overall, while it’s far from being the best rap project of the year,
7 does show that when Lil Nas X comes out with a real full length project, that’s when we’ll see what he’s truly capable of.
