Review Summary: weon't fuck around
An exciting aspect of the drill scene is the embrace of transience –
in the now. This works in a meta sense: the mixtapes, singles, leaks, snippets, teasers, rough cuts and similar things that largely exist on the edges and outside Sputnikmusic's staid cataloguing. Similarly, while there's a merit in 'growers' or convoluted musical constructs that take a bunch of listens to unpick, it's pretty ass-backwards to deny the value of the opposite. The opposite being music made not only for the moment but to dominate it; visceral tunes targeted at an immediate reaction.
Drill has no lack of wildness and recklessness. Musically, this lends itself to some off-the-wall, improbable hooks and hard-hitting deliveries/lines that create really memorable
moments (that word again).
“Kinda crazy in the head, that's why they call me Snapp. Pussies came to be shooters but they calling me for straps.” Thinking about
Menace 2 Society, I ended up with a half a page of bars I wanted to quote. I couldn't say if they were some exceptional lyrics in themselves (no high-minded literary critique here) but they're made important by the sheer force of Snapp Dogg or Suav Corleone or any of the other featuring rapper's delivery. In this way,
“for that bankroll” (on “Bankroll”, natch) acquires a 'live by the sword'-type profundity simply from the way that Snapp carries it. In this, he’s assisted by Antt Beatz, a trap pioneer, master of hard, undeniable beats and Detriot mainstay. The Super Producer is solid here, creating a consistent base for the moments/impact struck by Snapp Dogg and the features. Of those, Rocaine is impressive too, wild and fearless (
“leave a nigga with more holes than a strip club“), and the track he features on ("Fuck Boy”) is a standout in energy and violence.
The line
“they want that street shit,” repeated like a mantra, is the backbone for its track ("Streetshit") but it's also a truth that underpins a tape that pretty much maintains momentum across all 20 songs. There's a couple of odd missteps where it feels like the music takes a weirdly defensive/passive turn - “Can't trust” [hoes] and “My money” (same theme too, go figure). For the most part however, via yelling (
“I love the way that choppa sound!”) or autotuned hooks (Antt Beatz, again, is crucial)
Menace 2 Society has an aggression and immediacy that hits hard.
