This album was released on May 23rd this year. Big Gucci Krow is another Souless artist who I first became familiar with around the beginning of the year when he dropped his Blessed Life EP. I don’t really have much background on this project in particular, but I think I’m gonna dig it just because everything I’ve heard from the dude in the past has been dope. I already know that he can rap well, so I’m expecting this to be pretty good.
The album begins with Energy Doesn’t Die Intro, which is pretty dope. The sample-based production kinda sounds like something Drake would rap over. It’s got a cool beat. I’m not sure who produced this track, but I fuck with the instrumental. The verse from Krow on this song is tight too.
I'm cut different, you dummy, you get the message or not?
A wolf in a wool coat, but I don't fuck with the flock
Is it a spoiler if I tell you I'm headed to the top?
I think not, niggas watchin' tryna see what's the plot
It’s a pretty short song, so there’s not really anything going on aside from the verse itself, but everything here is really well done. I think the song is dope. The second track is called Inglorious 2 on the Way, and it features some fantastic production from Ed Glorious. Inglorious is the name of an extended play by Ed Glorious & Krow, so I guess this means the sequel will be coming out some time soon. As far as this song goes, the structure is pretty much identical to that of the preceding track. The main difference is that this one has a nice refrain on the outro in which he declares “it’s 187 on a cop.” I think the verse on this track is pretty good, and overall I like the song more than the preceding one. It’s really dope. The following track, Courtside Freestyle, is even better. This one has one of my favorite instrumentals on the project. I got the coveted involuntary headnod when Krow started rapping too. His flow over this beat is fire. The beat itself is really lavish sounding. I could see Rick Ross spitting over it.
I'm talkin' cash money when I hop on the beat 'cause I know I'm the king of the South
Every verse that I spit here will silence a hater and eliminate all the doubt
These niggas got a whole lot of spunk when they on the internet runnin' they mouth
But soon as they come through the city they talkin' to Siri and tryna see how to reroute
This is easily my favorite track up to this point on the record. It follows basically the same structure as the preceding couple of tracks, but it just feels more fleshed out—possibly due to the relatively long length. I think it’s dope as hell. The following track is entitled San Fierro, and it honestly took a few seconds to grow on me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the production at first, but I actually like it a lot now. I think my initial ambivalence was just caused by the really abrupt manner in which the song starts. The song is pretty short and just consists of one verse, but everything here is pretty well done. It’s not really a highlight for me, but I did come to enjoy it after multiple listens. It’s a good song. Track 5 is entitled TONY SNELL NUMBERS, and it features Norfside Shae, who I first became familiar with through his work with SeKwence. The chill, lavish production sounds kinda like something I’d hear in a really fancy restaurant. I guess the percussion probably makes it a little too energetic for that setting actually. It sounds fancy though. That’s basically what I’m tryna get across. The opening verse from Krow is really dope, and I like the way Shae comes in right behind him. I definitely preferred Krow’s verse overall, but they both did a great job. Once again, the song has a pretty simplistic structure. They’re just rapping the whole time with no hook or bridge or anything like that. This track is one of the longer songs on the album since it has a feature, so even with the straightforward structure it sounds more complete than some of the others. I think it’s a really dope track. It’s followed by Stay Golden Freestyle. Once again, this track has a very straightforward structure. I think the production is pretty good, and, as anyone could’ve predicted at this point, the verse from Krow here is really dope. I feel like I can hear Devin the Dude as a feature for this song. He would’ve fit really nicely. Honestly, any Southern MC sounds right at home over production like this. This shit is chill as hell. It makes me wanna take a hit from a bong for whatever reason. The whole project is very Southern, which I appreciate. This song in particular is noticeably country sounding. I wanna roll around Texas in a slab listening to this. I know Krow is from Alabama, but I feel like this track would fit in well with artists like UGK, Odd Squad, etc. I love how Southern this shit sounds. The song is dope. The penultimate track is called Niggas Leaching Already. I love how cheerful and lighthearted the production on this track is. It’s the shortest song on the album, and as a result sounds more like an interlude than a full song, but what’s here is super well done. I think his flow is great here. He did his thing on this verse.
Niggas tryna look tough for the crowd
Stupid ass nigga how the fuck do you sound
Beatin' on your chest like you comin' from the wild
Bring a nigga back to Earth when his body hit the ground
Anyways lemme pop my shit
Throw on the beat, let me talk my shit
Hit the West & the East like Pac & Big
But the home down South like my nigga Big K.R.I.T.
The one artist I kept thinking of when listening to this shit was Elevator Jay. I think a Big Gucci Krow & Elevator Jay collab would be fire. I hope that happens some day. Anyway, as far as this song goes, I think it’s one of the best tracks on the album. The beat is fire, and same goes for Krow’s flow. It might’ve been my favorite track if it was a bit longer and more fleshed out. I fuck with it. The final song is the longest track on the album, and it’s entitled Out da Trunk. This is easily the best song on the album. I love this track. The melodic, slow paced production is really hypnotizing, and Krow slid over it beautifully. There’s not a single aspect of this song that I don’t like. I think the rapping is great, the production is gorgeous, and overall the song just feels really complete. Everything just came together really well. The pitch-shifted vocals at the beginning of the song fit this beat perfectly, and the outro in which the beat slows down works really well. Krow switched up his flow a few times on this track. This track just feels more fleshed out and complete than a lot of the others. I think it’s dope af.
This album is pretty great. There’s not a single track here that I don’t think is good. This project just confirmed to me Krow’s ability to spit, and I love how Southern this shit is. I think in the future I’d like him to lean into that aspect of his music. As far as gripes go, I don’t really have any major complaints. I did notice that a lot of the songs follow the same structure, and it’d be nice to get some memorable hooks in here, but as far as beat selection and just overall skills on the mic, I think Krow’s got the important shit down. There’s not a single wack verse on this album. This shit is dope. Check it out.
Favorite Song: Out da trunk
Least Favorite Song: San Fierro
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