By: Jarrod Horton
Staff Writer
Earlier this month, 2Chainz released his fifth studio album ‘Rap or Go to the League.’ The album got immediate publicity from the news that NBA great LeBron James was one of the executive producers. The album has 14 tracks and features production Mike Dean, DJ Mustard, 9th Wonder and, Pharrell Williams.
The album also has a lot of guest features from notable artists such as Kodak Black, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Ariana Grande, Young Thug and Ty Dolla $ign. The first few songs on Rap or Go to the League had me thinking that 2Chainz had a classic album on his hand. Forgiven, which features Marsha Ambrosius kicks off the album. It is a soulful song produced by Dem Jointz. I love the content and the beautiful spoken word ending. 9th Wonder laced the second song Threat to Society and Money in the Way is a song that I have on repeat.
The next five songs on the album changed my mind on the classic expectations I predicted for the album. At this point in the project, it seems that 2Chainz got confused about what direction he wanted to take the album. Instead of staying with the smooth, Hip Hop vibe he started off within the first songs; it shifted to a mix of club, typical radio sounding music. I didn’t like High Top Versace that featured Young Thug. Plus I wasn’t feeling Whip with Travis Scott and I thought the Pharrell Williams produced Momma I hit a Lick that featured Kendrick Lamar was underwhelming.
The latter part of the album had some songs that I like. I was feeling I Said Me and I’m Not Crazy, Life is that featured Kodak Black and Chance the Rapper was dope. However, in the end, I thought the album was inconsistent. I can understand the reasoning behind the mixture of music, but I wasn’t completely satisfied with the results. 2Chainz has been making music since the ’90s, therefore he has an older audience that it is accustomed to solid content, clever lyrics, and sample-driven beats. On the other hand, as an artist, he gained his popularity through a younger audience that it is accustomed to more up-tempo beats with the less thought-provoking subject matter. In addition to that, with his status as one of the more famous Hip Hop artists, you can see his need to make commercial songs for the radio.
In the end, I thought ROGTTL was decent. There were songs that I loved and songs that I didn’t like at all. With the decrease of good Hip Hop albums, you have to give 2Chainz credit for trying to give a solid effort that everyone can vibe with. On my letter grade board, I would give Rap or Go to the League a C+. I would suggest that you grab the album and check it out yourself. I did grab some of the songs off the internet and posted them on the next page. Click over and give it a listen.