DC4- Review

Background:

Meek Mill’s long awaited album, “Dreamchasers 4” or better known as “DC4”, has finally been published and released on October 28, 2016. After the many setbacks on his career, one being his conflict with Drake, many believed that Meek Mill will only shrink as an artist. However, his hype for the album, after his prison comeback, has been getting recognition from many artists and fans.

Album / Track Review(s):

Tracks 1-5 (Beginning): The first song on Meek’s albums, in this case being “On The Regular (Intro)”, are always as expected, a banger and in some cases may be the best track on the whole album. Track 1 uses a remixed beat of the classic song “Hate Me Now” by Nas and although the intro sets its purpose for hyping up the album, it is too early to make opinions especially after Meek Mill’s previous intros. In the second track, “Blessed Up”, Meek adjusts to a Big Sean flow to where he goes off beat to an extent and continues to rap. However, the approach overall definitely fits the beat that's used and he still gives what the fans want. / The next track, “Litty”, features a previous collaborator, Tory Lanez. On this track, Tory Lanez takes over and delivers everything that is needed for the track and as far as his career is concerned, he is quickly becoming a more and more favored artist because he always has bars to deliver. / Track 4, “Shine”, Meek goes back to his previous self to rap about his street life which is always appreciated by him for keeping it real unlike most of the other artists. / On track 5, “Froze”, Meek features Nicki Minaj and Lil Uzi Vert. It seems as if Meek Mill is trying to spread his content through to more and more artists by collaborating with new ones such as seen on this track when he teams up with Lil Uzi Vert, one of the most talked about rappers at the moment. As far as Meek and Nicki, their presence is strong in this one. They both hop on the track and do their thing, as seen before, where as it seems that Lil Uzi Vert. wasn’t the best fit for the song. / So far in the album, Meek Mill does not disappoint one bit and this project could be the one to bring him back up in the game.

Tracks 6-10 (Middle): Track 6 on the album, “Difference”, features Quavo who was part of the rap group Migos and out of the trio, Quavo stood out and for that reason he is featured in many tacks out right now. In the beginning of the track, the adlibs of Desiigner were added to the beat to give the song more hype but overall, Meek and Quavo killed the track. / Track 7, “Lights Out” featuring Don Q, is a track that anyone could bump to because of the catchy beat and the vibe of the song. This track was used to begin a change in flow for track 8, “Blue Notes”. / “Blue Notes” begins with a different type of instrumental than the previous tracks on the album in that it is a blues type of beat mixed with rap. Meek Mill transitions to give off a different mood and vibe but still maintains his flow and is able to build up more hype for his project. / The next track, “Offended”, features Young Thug and 21 Savage, and all 3 of these artists come together for a beautiful mix of rap. With Young Thug on the hook, the song becomes one for the aux cord with a hard beat. And as far as 21 Savage, he shows off a snippet of what he is capable of and was a very nice addition to the album. / On “You Know”, featuring YFN Lucci, we get a slow beat with some vocals from Meek Mill mixed with some rap and a nice verse Lucci. This track was not at all expected especially from the past songs. Meek did a beautiful job in transitioning into this track and it’s worth a listen. / Towards the middle of the album is where we experience something new from Meek Mill. The different types of beats and instrumentals, as well as vocals, were all beautiful transitions in his album and were able to bring something extra to Meeks supporters and fans.

Tracks 11-14 (End): The end of the album begins with track 11, “Way Up”, featuring Tracy T. This track, although isn't terrible, was probably the worst one on the album. The beat and the lyrics just did not click as expected and something was missing. / The next track, “2 Wrongs” featuring Guordan Banks & Pusha T, begins with a Jeremih type feel which is always engaging. Meek Mill hops on the track and presents his lyrics in a powerful manner. Pusha T and Meek Mill are brought together for their hate of Drake and in all honesty, these 2 are a nice team. / “Tony Story 3” contains some beautiful lyrics and a nice beat. However, the production of this song was more on the weak side and the words did not click to the instrumental. / The final track, “Mo' Money (Outro)” featuring French Montana and Lil' Snupe, is a perfect outro for the album in that it seems to tie it all together. Meek includes a sample of his older song, “Dreams and Nightmares”, and the track was a nice tribute to Lil’ Snupe. / The ending of the album did not build up to the hype that was expected and was a little weak. Meek makes up for his lack of flow in the final track, however, he began to fall off in the tracks towards the end.

Although Meek Mill stuck mainly to his old self in terms of his flow and instrumentals, it was something that the fans missed from him. He surprises the audience with a few tracks that were incorporated into the album with a new style of sound. Meek Mill is known for rapping about his gang and street life and many enjoy that from him because of his unique way of presenting it, unlike many of the stereotypical artists out today. This album met the expectations of the fans and definitely has the potential to be his greatest project that he will ever put out.

Rating: ★★★★