"Richest Opp" is the latest mixtape from rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again and it is the most difficult tape I've ever had to review. Not due to its length or its genre but due to having to judge all 17 tracks of the release objectively. To keep it straight, I believe NBA YoungBoy is overrated as well as one of the kings of drugged out mumble rap. To say the least, listening to 17 tracks of him was a challenge but I got it done and here's my take.
Marley, mommy, I'm not tryna be violent
It's not safe on my island, you ain't wit' that, you dyin'
See lil' bro'nem be wildin', they send shots through his body
No, she not scared and she like me, I wan' fuck wit' her body
NBA Ben 10 saves the track in Verse 2 with his clear bars and his flow which rides the beat perfectly.
The first bar of the song is great because at least we are on the same page regarding his mental state when he is writing this stuff. Channel 9 is another one of those tracks that start off grimey and ready for a good New Orleans story but is ruined by the chaotic and strange lyrics of YoungBoy. There is literally nothing redeemable about this song. It’s just noise about guns and drugs.
Get one to pull up on me and I'm gon' do me somethin'
Once again the song starts off making it clear that he is on some type of narcotic which makes the flow and vocals during the verses make sense. However, I can't front with "Bitch Let's Do It" it's the best song the album because the beat knocks and the first verse is actually understandable. There are some parts that get strange like the following:
Like, thirty days straight, I ain't sleep from two to tree
Like, thirty days straight—
Hold on, let me catch again
I say, thirty days straight, I ain't sleep from two to three
I went thirty days straight, I was rollin' off the bean
It been thirty days straight she had an attitude with me
I'ma get that ass straight, I'll stab that punani 'til it bleed
But outside of this part the song is decent.
Tracks like “I Shot Qupid” highlight just how immature the music is and the mindstate you have to have to connect with it. Mainstream Rap is quickly descending into a place where only the dregs of society can relate to it. It’s hard to see any self respecting, responsible, and successful Black man listening to this drivel. His bio says that he dropped out in the 9th grade and you can truly hear it in his music. It’s devoid of intelligence, rationale, or wit. “Richest Opp” is easily a top 3 candidate for worst Rap mixtape of 2023.
Analyzing 3 Songs from Richest Opp
Chopstick feat T.E.N.
The beat starts out with a gangsta bass line that makes you think you’re going to hear something fresh but when the beat drops it ends up sounding just like everything else on the album. One issue I have with Chopstick like most of the rest of the album is that most of the bars are intelligible. At 0:44 youngboy does the whiny voice thing he is known for and it sounds horrendous:Marley, mommy, I'm not tryna be violent
It's not safe on my island, you ain't wit' that, you dyin'
See lil' bro'nem be wildin', they send shots through his body
No, she not scared and she like me, I wan' fuck wit' her body
NBA Ben 10 saves the track in Verse 2 with his clear bars and his flow which rides the beat perfectly.
Channel 9
Smokin’ dope, tryna get my head onThe first bar of the song is great because at least we are on the same page regarding his mental state when he is writing this stuff. Channel 9 is another one of those tracks that start off grimey and ready for a good New Orleans story but is ruined by the chaotic and strange lyrics of YoungBoy. There is literally nothing redeemable about this song. It’s just noise about guns and drugs.
Bitch Let’s Do It
It's early noon and I'm druggin', tryna fuck me somethin'Get one to pull up on me and I'm gon' do me somethin'
Once again the song starts off making it clear that he is on some type of narcotic which makes the flow and vocals during the verses make sense. However, I can't front with "Bitch Let's Do It" it's the best song the album because the beat knocks and the first verse is actually understandable. There are some parts that get strange like the following:
Like, thirty days straight, I ain't sleep from two to tree
Like, thirty days straight—
Hold on, let me catch again
I say, thirty days straight, I ain't sleep from two to three
I went thirty days straight, I was rollin' off the bean
It been thirty days straight she had an attitude with me
I'ma get that ass straight, I'll stab that punani 'til it bleed
But outside of this part the song is decent.
Life Factor
Most of these songs fit firmly into commute. Nothing about it lends itself to music you will listen to when relaxing or at work. It’s purely high tempo, NSFW, yell fest.Parting Thoughts
Nas said Hip Hop is dead and now Rap is on life support. I often find myself wondering if I’m this generation’s “old man” looking down on the new generation and while that argument may have some merit the music is objectivelyon a decline. Richest Opp is not good from a technical, musical, or lyrical a standpoint. It’s barely intelligible, it’s melodic strange, and derivative in subject matter. There is nothing new, innovative or exciting about anything on this project.Tracks like “I Shot Qupid” highlight just how immature the music is and the mindstate you have to have to connect with it. Mainstream Rap is quickly descending into a place where only the dregs of society can relate to it. It’s hard to see any self respecting, responsible, and successful Black man listening to this drivel. His bio says that he dropped out in the 9th grade and you can truly hear it in his music. It’s devoid of intelligence, rationale, or wit. “Richest Opp” is easily a top 3 candidate for worst Rap mixtape of 2023.
Tracklist
- Bitch Let’s Do It
- I Got That Shit
- I Heard
- Hurt My Heart
- Dirty Thug
- Just Flow
- Free Meechy
- Father
- Fuck The Industry Pt. 2
- What You Gonna Do
- Perspective
- Chopstick (Ft. NBA Ben 10)
- Slimes Go Where I Go
- Slider
- I Shot Qupid
- Channel 9
- I Want His Soul
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