Motivation seems to be the theme of 2011. On one side, you have Kendrick Lamar’sSection 80 that is putting consciousness and hope into the music. Jetting down south, Ace Hood is inspiring the hustlers with Blood, Sweat & Tears, particularly the first two singles; “Hustle Hard” and “Go N Get It.” Taking a trip up north, Rick Ross riding shotgun, we have Philly’s Meek Mill. Dream Chasers from the title to the music has to deal with inspiration and motivation a lot.
Granted, not everybody can experience this. Some people don’t react to what a rapper is spitting about, even though it seems like a hard task not to. On the intro to this DJ Drama-hosted tape, Meek chronicles his rise to fame from getting arrested and doing time to his new adventure under Maybach Music. DJ Drama ends on a strong note with, “this is where dreams…..become reality.” Several other cuts including, “Get Dis Money,” “Work” and the title track featuring Beanie Sigel.
It’s not all about trying to give his story and possibly motivate the listener. Meek and Rick Ross announce that their in the double digits on one of the hardest records, the Lex Luger-produced “Body Count.” You have a record similiar to Will Smith’s “Summertime” classic with “Middle Of The Summer.” Aligned with Mel Love, you get a nice head nodding beat with an account of what growing up in Philly was like.
Despite his Maybach Music signing, Meek still makes music like he did when he was fresh out of prison hungry and works with the same people he would. Outside of utilizing Rick Ross’ hooks and verses and Lex Luger’s production, the bulk of production and features come from Tone Beats, All Star, Young Chris , NH and a couple others mentioned earlier.
The one thing that has changed is he’s gotten sharper with the pen. “Tony’s Story” is a beautifully crafted street tale about a killer, Tony, who lives reckless and cheats death a few times. Anytime an artist can do a story and keep it interesting for four minutes, it shows strength in their abilities.
Dream Chasers does suffer from one big thing and that’s repetitive sounding production. When you have two Lex Luger-produced songs (“Work” and “Body Count”) and both feature Rick Ross, you are going to get too much diverse outside of a concept. “Derrick Rose,” despite it’s beat provided by All Star, takes a page out of the aforementioned Luger’s style. Surprise surprise (sarcastically) with “Panic,” assisted by Rick Ross and Yo Gotti.
With 19 songs, there’s enough variety to go around. Some will like the MMG formula and some will prefer everything else. Regardless, Meek’s hunger hasn’t ceased and he’s still improving with more competition in his view now. Dream Chasers satisfies his audience and invites in more to catch the show.
Download: Meek Mill – Dream Chasers (Untagged)
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