With seventeen albums and mixtapes to his title, Moneybagg Yo has lengthy established himself as one of many true pillars of modern-day Memphis hip hop. The rapper took a hiatus of types after the discharge of his wonderful 2021 Gangsta’s Ache, a extremely polished but soulful effort that deepened his gruff, loner persona on relatable and explosive hits such because the ultra-fun revenge anthem “Time Right this moment,” Now, he’s again with a vengeance on one in every of his most private choices thus far, Onerous to Love.
Onerous to Love opens with a mighty, gradual piano and violin-backed introduction as we hear Bagg take goal at naysayers and gossip hounds, rapping, “Have a look at Bagg, assume he puttin’ on/he actually ain’t that onerous, I similar to a pair songs/he solely make music if it’s a social media pattern/he ain’t did shit to them nigga who don’ killed his buddy.” It’s the fiery, passionate, and defiant conviction in his supply that drives residence a well-worn subject with contemporary urgency.
He addresses many hardships on Onerous to Love, most powerfully his battle with habit to codeine. From begin to end, he alludes to his drawback by means of one-off traces and the eerily refreshing sound of him pouring some ice-cold lean in a styrofoam cup. On “No Present” he explores medication as an all-too-common coping mechanism for coping with heavy losses. It’s not laborious to empathize with him while you hear him rap bars like, “I fill my physique up with medication ‘fore I even eat (Go)/Percocets, Xans, codeine, you don’t wanna see what I see (Nah)/Ever seen a nigga OD? He ain’t get up out of his sleep (Rattling)/Are you able to think about how that made me really feel? (You may’t)/Tryna kick the cup for actual and reduce on these capsules (Shake it)/Tryna combat it, combat it, however I’m deep in that discipline.”
Fortunately, Moneybagg Yo at all times does a terrific job of balancing ache and pleasure because of his well-polished ability for delivering enjoyable, earworm-producing hits. The brooding “Ocean Spray” is a licensed banger; the nimbleness of his move is as clean as a gradual journey by means of town in a Rolls Royce Wraith. Songs the place he foregrounds his sultry machismo–like his collaboration with Future, “Maintain It Low” and “Quickie,” which samples Lil Wayne’s mixtape traditional “PMW”–assist make Onerous to Love a enjoyable challenge to journey to because the summer time creeps in.
But, for all of Moneybagg Yo’s strengths as a top-tier wordsmith, in addition to his knack for turning relatable subjects into potential business hits and provoking private anthems, Onerous To Love feels restricted in comparison with his most up-to-date work. At a swollen 20 songs and 55 minutes, the sameness of its subject material and the shortage of range in its manufacturing causes the music to lose influence and power, regardless of the hard-nosed honesty of Bagg’s lyrics. Despite the fact that A Gangsta’s Ache was longer at 22 songs, the range of its options and sound made for a extra compelling hear. With a shorter and extra targeted tracklist, Onerous to Love may have landed amongst his greatest work. It undoubtedly continues Moneybagg Yo’s run of constantly strong tasks. A couple of extra change-ups and slightly risk-taking would have made his newest effort simpler to like.
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