Meek Mill has finally dropped his much anticipated debut album, Dreams and Nightmares. Meek’s last two mixtapes, Dreamchasers and Dreamchasers II generated a lot of excitement for this major label debut. Loud, energetic beats and all-star features made the tapes sound more like albums. Dreamchasers I & II left a lot of people wondering, would the album be as good or could it be better?!
To properly review this big debut, we’re breaking it down by his bars:
Dreams and Nightmares(intro) — A strikingly well-produced and more inspiring intros we’ve heard in a long time. Dropping descriptive lines like:
In the back of the paddy wagon, cuffs locked on wrists
See my dreams unfold, nightmares come true
Tell me this guy can’t flex.
In God We Trust — This track has Maybach Music written all over it. Meek basically expresses his love for money, and drops a few quotables, including this one, and even tells his fans to stay in school (what a cool dude!)
Oh that’s Kony-like, everybody bleed
Cuz he come out in 2060, Christmas Eve
Young & Gettin' It
Kirko Bangz joins Meek for this one and fits perfectly in the hook. We’re not in love with the auto-tune but, Meek’s unique voice somehow makes it interesting. This song isn’t meant to be crazy lyrical, but Meek’s lighter bars don’t detract from the track either.
Traumatized http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmbnMzL7h8o It seems like Boi-1da’s production on this brought the best out in Meek. We get to see passed the stacks of money and into what makes up the real Meek. In the first verse, he shares his memory of a very dark time in his life:
It really hurt me when they killed Shotty
I was locked down in my cell and I had to read about it
Say what you want about Meek’s MMG money anthems, but this track is one of the best on the album. Period.
Believe It feat. Rick Ross MMG has its hands on this one (no chokehold). The boss himself, Rozay, comes in on the hook, and again on the second verse, rapping about how much of a straight OG he is (okay, okay, we believe you!). Meek drops his characteristic punchline-heavy verses, but on this track, we enjoyed it.
Maybach Curtains feat. John Legend, Nas, Rick Ross — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9iFRFsJEc0&feature=related
It’s on a Meek Mill album, but the OG of the Rap Genius verified account, Nas kills this jazzy beat. John Legend’s voice is heavenly, as you’d expect, and his soulful vocals help bring together Queensbridge’s king with MMG.
My liquid money’s a hypnotist to your Mrs
Lay back like I’m in the chair of a dentist
We peer outside their Maybach curtains to see just how far they’ve all come and how different their lives are now.
Even Rick Ross brings his A-game here (I mean, it’s NAS!) and helps make this a standalone gem on this album.
Amen feat. Drake — This was on Dreamchasers 2 and even if you didn’t know that, everyone has heard this song, many times (PREACH). Love it or hate it, some of 2012’s most memorable lines are from this anthem, so it’s no wonder why this track made the cut for the album. We ain’t mad about it either…CHUUCH!
Young Kings — When he’s on his own, Meek, technically speaking, does his best work. This track is proof with Meek’s aggressive assault of lyricism.
And I still roll round through my old hood in my new whip
All white ghost I call it my cool whip
The versatility of Meeks' flow from punchlines to more descriptive bars has become a staple of his style from mixtapes to this debut album.
Lay-Up A song for the ladies (cue Trey!). We can’t hate though! Meek doesn’t slow down, and he still does a good job of rapping within the beat. It’s been a minute since I heard Trey Songz on a hook this good. And this truly had Wale’s name written all over it.
Tony Story 2 — When he raps about things he needs to get off his chest, he is at his best. Continuation from Tony Story 1 on the first Dreamchasers.
Fucking with that lean, he dipping one in the morning
Shots fired, niggas scatter without a warning
He strapped too, reach and fixing to get up on ‘em
It’s a story of gang violence from the point of view of someone who is in a position, given his fan base, to actually do something about it. When people listen to this inspirational story, they might be motivated by Meek to change their lives. Props to Meek for telling this story.
Who You’re Around — Meek reflects on his dark past here. He describes how people in his old life want to fiend all of his money and make him feel like he deserted them. What makes this song enjoyable is that he tells us all of this without complaining about it. Mary J. Blige is her soulful self on the hook, and is a perfect complement to Meek’s vision of struggle.
Polo & Shell Tops — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7_sVBAdZwY This is where Meek delves deep into his time selling drugs. You can feel Meek’s guilt from serving people who need something that is killing them in order to survive himself.
Most my niggas done got busted tryna take a hit
The feds were lurking, we was serving, they was taking flicks
Rich & Famous — A common dilemma of rappers today — how do you know if the girl you’re with is with you for the money? But Meek’s not concerned. Here he’s pretty certain it’s just because he’s such a badass. And that’s totally fine by him.
She used to say I was crazy, I was up to no good
Till I slid all in it, started fucking her good
Real Niggas Come First — Meek doesn’t fuck with fake people. Plain and simple. There are people in this world that go and get what they deserve and there are people who are someones bitch their whole lives.
Burn feat. Big Sean — It’s no small feat to match a Big Sean verse, bar for bar, when he’s on top of his game (see the third verse). There’s a clever play between Meek and Sean as they pass the verses back and forth to each other and one seamlessly picks up where the other left off.
Oh that’s your girl? Damn nigga you ain’t learn shit
She naked in my studio I’m on that Howard Stern shit
This song is too damn hot (no pun intended).
In the end, we were pleasantly surprised to hear so many sincerely personally stories interwoven with Meek’s more well-known witty verses on this big debut. It’s a fairly complete profile of the troubled hustler turned MMG star.
Buy Dreams and Nightmares on iTunes now!