It's been 3 years since the release of "The Chauncey Hollis Project" and now Hit-Boy is back in the driver's seat with his latest album "Surf or Drown". Unlike his previous projects, Surf and Drown serves two roles in that it highlights Hit-Boy as an artist for the first half and as a producer for the second. Surf or Drown is loaded with features from the likes of Dom Kennedy, Devin Morrison, James Fauntleroy, The Alchemist and more...will it yield an amazing album? Let's start by analyzing 3 songs from Hit-Boy's latest drop.
To be succinct, nothing about the track is memorable...it's a beat with rhymes on top of it. The biggest issue is that the first beat is subdued and muted which does not work well with Hit-Boy's monotone style of rapping. Even when Nas comes in for the second verse it feels phoned-in and unmotivated.
The "bar-trading" in the final verse does little for the song as it feels like two separate verses stitched together. There is no chemistry between the two like let's say Jadakiss and Styles P and "We Gon' Make It".
The second verse is laced by Jay 305 who gives us the West Coast hood bars that the beat deserves. His voice, flow, and bars mesh perfectly with the high-pitched synth melody characteristic of West Coast hood music.
State Champ is easily one of the best songs on the album. Restricting it to 2 and a half minutes was brilliant as it makes you want to run it back over and over again.
It doesn't matter if the beat is hype, slow, fast, sad, or if a bar is of special importance...it will be delivered the exact same way as everything else. Hit-Boy's boring delivery does not pair well with chill or subdued beats as the lyrics begin getting lost in the beat.
If we were to use the album's title to describe it, the last 10 tracks would be the "Surf" while the first 11 would be the "Drown". With that said, Hit-Boy is an incredibly talented as a producer and writer that can benefit from improved vocal delivery.
We give Hit-Boy's latest album Surf or Drown 3 out of 6ZEROS.
Analyzing 3 Random Songs from Surf or Drown
The Tide
This track feels like something off the cutting room floor of the Nas - Magic sessions. The first half of the track is a less exciting version of the rhymes over sped up soul w/o drums formula we heard done expertly with "Ugly" and "Wu for the Children". The second half (2:23) is more upbeat with a nice drum pattern and a final verse that sees Hit-Boy and Nas trading bars.To be succinct, nothing about the track is memorable...it's a beat with rhymes on top of it. The biggest issue is that the first beat is subdued and muted which does not work well with Hit-Boy's monotone style of rapping. Even when Nas comes in for the second verse it feels phoned-in and unmotivated.
The "bar-trading" in the final verse does little for the song as it feels like two separate verses stitched together. There is no chemistry between the two like let's say Jadakiss and Styles P and "We Gon' Make It".
State Champ
State Champ starts off with a Nipsey drop before a very bouncy bass line sets the foundation for Hit-Boy's bars. Hit-Boy keeps the verse short at 8-bars which transitions smoothly into the anthem-style Dom Kennedy hook:The second verse is laced by Jay 305 who gives us the West Coast hood bars that the beat deserves. His voice, flow, and bars mesh perfectly with the high-pitched synth melody characteristic of West Coast hood music.
State Champ is easily one of the best songs on the album. Restricting it to 2 and a half minutes was brilliant as it makes you want to run it back over and over again.
NU.WAV
NU.WAV is a vibe with its chill beat and Devin Morrison's airy vocals but Hit-Boy's monotone bars really stop the track from elevating to the next level. Like most tracks on the album, Hit-Boy doesn't accentuate any words or lines in his bars, he just hits us with word after word in the same tone.It doesn't matter if the beat is hype, slow, fast, sad, or if a bar is of special importance...it will be delivered the exact same way as everything else. Hit-Boy's boring delivery does not pair well with chill or subdued beats as the lyrics begin getting lost in the beat.
Parting Thoughts
Surf or Drown is one of those albums that people bump for a week or two and then totally forget about. While Hit-Boy may have evolved as a Producer, the same cannot be said for him as an MC. In fact, he has the same boring monotone style on Tony Fontana III (2023) that he did 5 years ago on Tony Fontana II (2018). Slipping Into Darkness may be one of the few on Surf or Drown with staying power due to The Alchemist rapping and Hit-Boy throwing shots at other Producers (Kanye West and Mustard).If we were to use the album's title to describe it, the last 10 tracks would be the "Surf" while the first 11 would be the "Drown". With that said, Hit-Boy is an incredibly talented as a producer and writer that can benefit from improved vocal delivery.
We give Hit-Boy's latest album Surf or Drown 3 out of 6ZEROS.
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