By Christopher Scott
On September 25th, ‘Trap Queen’ rapper Fetty Wap released his self-titled debut album under 300 Entertainment, and critics have had mixed reactions.
While some recommend the 20 track LP because it follows the platform from his hit songs naysayers argue it’s not impressive because it lacks diversity.
“He sounds the same on everything,” says CSI graduate and local rapper Nick “HITT” Brown. “Good beats, but elementary lyrical word play.”
Similar to Brown’s reaction, The Root reviewed the album as “one long-ass remix of ‘Trap Queen.’”
Contrary to the opposition, Pitchfork also reviewed the album and commends Fetty’s “formula” for his songs, which include “generous Auto-Tune, exuberant melodies, and a lot of warbled ‘Yeaaaaaaaa baby’s’ and ‘1738’s’.”
Along with this “formula,” one of the unique elements of this album is it’s not filled with household names. Pitchfork commended Fetty for approaching “everything in his music with the earnest devotion of matrimony: his trap queen, his money, [and] his beloved Remy Boyz.”
It’s no secret that Fetty exuberates his loyalty to the Remy Boyz in his work. He featured fellow crew member Monty in nine of the twenty album tracks. More notably, Monty was featured in “My Way” instead of Drake, whose verse on the remix version of “My Way” created more hype for “2015’s ultimate trap lullaby” as Pitchfork described it.
So after my review of the album, I’ll have to agree that Fetty is not a lyrical genius, but I respect his loyalty to his crew, and I am a fan of the rappa-turnt-sanga’s melodic, hypnotic and faded trap tracks. In my opinion, he’s more of a natural singer than a rapper, but his album is still worth bumping to.
As Pitchfork simply puts it, “If you like what you’ve already heard from Fetty, you’ll like these songs.”
