Normally when most rappers go on a long hiatus after just making their debut, you tend to not hear from them after that. Which leads to people calling them a one time wonder or just a "flash in the pan". I honestly thought this was the case for Young Dro. Debuting in 2006 under the wing of T.I., dropping his debut album Best Thang Smokin' which featured one of the biggest hits that year in "Shoulder Lean", I thought that would be it for Dro after not hearing from him since. Well seven years later, to my surprise and everyone else, Dro is back at it. He's back with his sophomore album High Times. I did listen to his first album and it wasn't all that to me. It wasn't terrible but just something that wasn't for me. Too much cornball lyrics, lack luster productions and happy sing-a-long hooks. So I kinda expected the same with this new album. Looks like I was right. I feel the same way about this that I did about his last album. Not terrible, but just not all that to me at all. Nothing about Dro has really changed. Which is crazy because you would think after such a long time away something would change but nope. Nothing. I'd say the only difference I see is a bit more aggressiveness in his voice but that's about it. His content surely hasn't changed. Still rapping mostly about his money and riches (what I like to call flaunt rap) and of course, smoking. Production is still a bit bland with the exception of a few tracks that I will mention. There are songs on here that are catchy and could become hits but a lot of it just isn't for me. I'll now start with what I did like. The album started off very aggressively as I mentioned before. It started with the first track "Odds". On here Dro was rapping very aggressively with a bit of raspy to his voice. Almost sounding Ja Rule like. He called out enemies, made threats and all of that extra tough guy talk. Didn't really expect him to start the album out in this manner. It was surprising. "Strong" has decent production. DJ Mustard is a pretty good mainstream producer and it shows here. Should be a club favorite. I thought the track "Bad Bitch" had a okay trap beat. Didn't over do it like most due. But this song was only listenable because of T.I. and Problem's guest verses. I really didn't even like Young Dro at all on this. Another song that was saved by T.I. was "Nope". Now this song had two glaring mistakes: repetitive hook and a dead production. But T.I. made it just barely listenable. I swear this album could have used more of T.I. on a lot of tracks. "Homeboyz" is normally the type of song I hate. Dro is barely tolerable when he's rapping so to hear him sing this hook, on auto tune at that, left me upset. But somehow after a few listens it grew on me and became kinda catchy. The beat kinda sounded like a re-made version of Joe Budden's hit "She Don't Put It Down" from earlier this year. I actually liked it. I have more negatives with this album so here they are. First off, lyrically Dro falls short a lot. The combination of his Atlanta slang, accent, deep voice and mumbled or slurred words about nothing just makes it impossible to make out what he's saying at times. It again, doesn't help him lyrically either (which laughably plays right into the irony of the magazine headline on his album cover). "Hammer Time" is the first example of this. No song on the album was filled with more corny lines and terrible delivery. "Check the alphabet nigga I'm the last G", "If a nigga think he better than me I forgive him", "five thousand dollar Yorkie named Poochie/I don't want your bitch I want coochie". Lines so bad that they were funny. Not to mention I had to play this song almost five times to make out every mumbled lyric he said. Now "Power Up" featured his worst flow on the album. Is that now popular fast aced jumpy flow that I have now dubbed as the "Versace" flow. Made popular of course by Migos and Drake. Wasn't feeling this track in the least bit. The single "FDB" I tried to give a chance but nope. This was bad too. This song oozed corniness too. "Bitch you ugly bitch you ugly both of y'all hoes look scary". That line alone did it for me. I can't really put my finger on the issue I have with "I'm Cold". The beat isn't that bad and it's rather catchy. Could it be his dreadful R&B attempt again? I don't really know but I feel like this may grow on me. He tries to drop a deep and meaningful song on "Free Fall" which isn't bad. The problem is like many others, Dro is just the type of rapper that's hard to take serious when trying to be deep and meaningful. Couldn't even relate to it like I was supposed to. Well overall, this album really didn't do much for me. With the exception of a few tracks, nothing has changed in Young Dro's music and still nothing moves me. I give it a final grade of a C-. I find it quite upsetting that Young Dro didn't change anything after being away for seven years. Not saying he has to change. It's okay to be yourself but at least do some experimenting with new sounds, new producers, new collaborators etc. Despite it all though, he's a hit maker and that's enough to keep him relevant even if he took another seven years off.Oh and yeah being buddies with T.I. helps too. End.
Final Grade: C-
CREDITS
Executive Producers
D'Juan Hart
Clifford Harris, Jr.
Lead Artist
D'Juan Hart
Production
Childish Major
Candice Mims
Cordale Quinn
Dijon McFarlane
Lamar Edwards
Kevin Briggs
Clifford Harris, Jr.
Collaboration
Clifford Harris, Jr.
Jason Martin
Natasha Mosley
Glenn Thomas
Miloh Smith
Label
Grand Hustle/eOne/Atlantic Records
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