2 Chainz has never been the most personal, creative, or skilled rapper, and he's never claimed to be. The purpose of 95% of his songs is to create a mood; they're mostly turn up songs, meant to be played for fun at a club, to listen to with friends, or to just give that energetic, "lit" feeling to listeners. This album certainly succeeds at this mission, but as always, people wonder if 2 Chainz will ever take the rap game seriously. In a way, that's what makes him so good.
The intro is quite interesting. It is a stereotypical East Asian martial arts announcement, and it seems to set a theme for the album; maybe more Asian inspired instruments, like the gong that ends the intro, or more character development of 2 Chainz' new nickname, "Daniel Son; Necklace Don".
However, this setting apparently didn't mean much. "Get Out The Bed", the first full track, is a normal rap song, that I could imagine being played loud in a club. Unlike usual, 2 Chainz raps in the style that Drake and Kanye West have been popularizing; with a grunt, "woo", or some other sound after every line. It sounds quite good with him. The psychedelic synths that accompany the normal hip-hop beat are also a very nice touch, and if the intro hadn't so mislead the audience, I'd say that this was a very good first track.
The next song, "Ghetto", starts with some retro synths, leading into a hard hip-hop beat. I love the production on this track, especially the glass-breaking sounds that fit so well with the lyrics of this song. 2 Chainz aggressively raps about his ghetto upgrade, with lyrics like "If I go to the hospital/ better put rims on that ambulance/better put lean in that IV", eventually leading into the almost casual but catchy chorus. The song ends with a long quote about 2 Chainz deciding to leave his usual ghetto life. This song is great, as far as 2 Chainz songs go. It goes hard, has great production, and above-average flow for him.
"Ounces Back" is extremely mediocre. The most notable thing about this one is the sleek piano background, but other than that, there's really nothing original, creative, or particularly good about it. I really can't say anything about it at all; there's just nothing to say.
"Chirp" is a more comedic(?) take at rap, similar to 2 Chainz' old "Watch Out". It's about a metaphorical alarm that goes off whenever people try to steal his style and demeanor. 2 Chainz goes even harder than normal in this song, with that dangerously catchy, almost funny "brr brr" sound he makes for his fictional alarm. This is more of a fun song, but it could still totally be played in a club with it's great production.
"Kilo" is pretty bad, with a very awkward chorus. However, the production is actually really interesting. The hollow-sounding synths, unique flute, and great bass gives this song a lot of potential; perhaps if it was used on another mixtape.
"Big Amount" finally makes use of the theme that the intro the the mixtape set out to create. The asian inspired flute and calm piano beats finally seems like it fits with the intro. Once again, 2 Chainz proves that anything can be turned into a turn-up song. My biggest caveat of this song is that it doesn't seem finished; it's just 2 Chainz' verse, Drake's verse, and that's it. That being said, they both had really good verses; 2 Chainz exposes a bit more of a personal story before delving into his normal, average, hip hop lyrics of girls and drugs, and even though I feel like Drake might've been better in the chorus, his verse is pretty good.
"You In Luv Wit Her" is pretty horrible. Again, "You In Luv Wit Her" brings back the smooth piano music, but the lyrics and the featured rapper, YFN Lucci, are just so horrible that this song is basically unenjoyable for me.
"Blessing" is a very bass-heavy banger, with some of 2 Chainz best flow, but the lyrics, like usual, are just so bad. The sparkly synths also seem out of place; unlike "Big Amount" or "Watch Out", 2 Chainz just couldn't make this one work.
"1 Yeezy Boot" is the best club banger on this mixtape, closely seconded by "Ghetto". 2 Chainz slurred yet aggressive lyrics perfectly suit the song, even though some of them don't make any sense : "From head to toe/ I'm wearing designer hats", but that might be purposeful. I also like the light/dark contrasted production on this track.
I recently got the opportunity to participate in 2 Chainz AMA (after I started writing this), and it surprised me how smart and articulate he seemed to be. I looked up interviews, and eventually found that he was actually extremely intelligent. That being said, his music recently just doesn't reflect that. Though Daniel Son; Necklace Don had a few good tracks, there was nothing game changing or certain to be a hit, like "Birthday Song", "I'm Different", or "Watch Out". I hate to say it, but this album was just mediocre; he could do better.
Final Verdict :
54/100
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