DJ Khaled's apex record in his first ten years of career, at least. He knows that he has succeeded in the challenge of creating his own opera omnia, to have tried to the end. Look at the cover. He's exhausted. Here are top producers and a stellar cast. Behind the keyboards appear the names of Boi-1da, DJ Toomp, Hit-Boy, JUSTICE League, Mike WiLL Made It, The Runners, J. Cole, Jahlil Beats. The performers are the usual guys, Khaled's friends, if you've listened to at least any of his other records before or after this, they're always the same names. These are the usual tracks. There are people who shout on simplistic and economic rhythms, when Khaled himself isn't shouting, others mumble things in a very lazy, unwilling style.
Two songs force their way through these 50 minutes, one is "They Ready", the other is "Hip Hop". Between them, there's a posse with a too-heavy rhythm where everyone raps badly, and T-Pain is horrible on the hook, the track is unlistenable. "Don't Pay 4 It" manages to give more annoyance and is the only skippable song from the very first moments on this album, which is in some way a one-of-a-kind event in a record signed by DJ Khaled up to his sixth effort. This piece brings you to suicidal thoughts, which by the way, is an honest reggae track by Mavado. Returning to the two best songs, "They Ready" has a livable rhythm conceived by J. Cole and an uninspired rap by Cole himself along with Big KRIT and Kendrick Lamar: the track is decent, and that's enough to make it one of the best in DJ Khaled's discography. The other is produced by JUSTICE League: jazzy boom bap with ethereal piano, downtempo dusty drum, and DJ Premier scratches. A dope verse from Scarface, MVP of the album, a great verse from Nas.
Khaled brings out 2 tracks, maybe 3, good out of 12. It was worth it.
Rating: 4/10.
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