It seems crazy that Humble Beast is G Herbo's first album. Welcome To Fazoland and Ballin' Like I'm Kobe were two album-quality mixtapes, but his newest project is his first official full-length, and in classic Herb fashion, it's a very consistent, streetwise work that develops images of a tortuous gang life in the ruthless ghettos of Chicago. There's something that feels a bit old-school about Humble Beast; while he's always been deft at conjuring images, I don't know if he's ever told a story as well as he told "Malcolm", and the production gives a feel akin to the classic gangsta/mafioso rap, albeit with a modern sheen. Herbo's always been more on the "conscious" side of the spectrum when it comes to drill, like his partner in crime Lil Bibby, but this record sets him a bit more apart from contemporaries like Lil Reese (though not necessarily better, a different style most certainly). It's definitely a great debut, continuing the sound and quality of the two aforementioned mixtapes, but he's going to need to add a bit of spice to the formula if he wants to remain in the upper echelon.
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