The sixth mixtape in French Montana's "Coke Boys" series also represents his first project of the year, three seasons after the last chapter and thirteen years after the first. Composed by 20 tracks, the tape is part of DJ Drama's "Gangsta Grillz" series and is one of two tape released, the other is "Coke Boys 6: Money Heist Edition", extended to 29 songs. The guests are Chinx, Max B, Stove God Cooks, Smooky MarGielaa, A$AP Rocky, Vory, Rob49, Ayoub, Jeremih, Benny the Butcher, DThang, EST Gee, Nav, Cheeze, King Combs and Pheelz.
"Intro" is probably already the best track on the mixtape. Harry Fraud invents a sublime, beautiful rhythm for this song by French Montana and the rapper doesn't waste a sensational beat. Splendid bassline, quiet drum, dusty cymbals, hints of piano keys, light strings, beautiful melodic male soul sample straight from Montclairs' "Ease the Pain". Fantastic production by Harry Fraud, French Montana exchanges bars with Stove God Cooks, rapper on the rise in recent years, and Coke Boy Cheeze. It impresses with fluidity and ease of replay.
"The Oath" boasts a great beat and a smooth rapping from Chinx and French Montana, making for a good track fortified with a robust drum. A$AP Rocky goes spoken word and introduces the third track, where Smooky MarGielaa steals the show on an essential trap beat with a good melody. In "Yes I Do" French Montana throws out the banger of his album: the production is three-pronged with CuBeatz, SprngBrk & ISM, well thought-out trap beat for the club, hauntingly and exhausting over and over title that somehow works, dominant rap from French Montana.
The fifth track is a remix of a last year's cut by Vory, over an uptempo trap beat paired with an enjoyable melody, Vory is fine, French does his work. It follows a Max B skit before "Not So Bad", where French flips Dido's hook in Eminem's "Stan", and pays homage to his friend Max B in prison, then performs a single verse over a good trap rhythm. "Igloo" boasts an electrifying uptempo production over which Rob49 delivers a couple of verses with a rapid flow alongside French Montana.
This tape hides more or less obvious tributes to other artists. "Slidin", for example, is a tribute to the devastating worldwide hit that Tyga dropped in 2018, "Taste": Ayoub pays homage to the intro and then opens the song with the same line as Tyga, in one of the strongest songs of the first half. French Montana still proves fit even in "Choose You", Jeremih adds little. "RZA" should make you jump in your chair, because French Montana just dropped the beat of "Shadowboxin'" that Bobby Steels created for GZA in 1995. The beat featured here is credited to Cool & Dre and inside are French Montana and Benny the Butcher: they don't looks too bad on a classic, but on the other side of the coin, they don't makes us regret either The Genius or Method Man, who mastered that absurd joint on GZA's second LP.
The first part of French Montana's tape is strong, the second part runs a bit on autopilot and features several fairly average trap beats and a decent rapper in most cases. The exceptions are represented by "Lemonade", a song by Max B on a rhythm with a g-funk flavor and the trio of songs signed by Cheeze, which have clean rhythms and whose songs are limited (if not drowned) by invasive and excessive hooks. The disc is closed by two remixes, including one with King Combs, son of Puff Daddy.
In the space of just under an hour, French Montana delivers one of his most focused and inspired performances, crafting what is one of his best projects in years and one of the strongest chapters in his mixtape series.
Rating: 7/10.
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