Review: Big Dreez - Dreezy

For the first time possibly ever, I found myself eagerly anticipating an album from an artist who I did not listen to. Whilst I knew of Dreezy through accidentally stumbling across her politically charged 2017 single 'Spar', and the feature she has on Smino’s latest release Noir, I had never listened to any of her albums. Born and raised in Chicago, Dreezy signed to Interscope in 2014 after she secured a feature from Common on her mixtape Schizo, whilst around the same time replaced fellow Chicagoan Chief Keef on the roster after his differences with the label. In the lead up to her latest project, I ran through her major-label debut album No Hard Feelings, which boasts an impressive lineup of modern rap and R&B features in Gucci Mane, Jeremih, Wale, and T-Pain, and was immediately taken aback; the first song ‘We Gon Ride’ immediately shows Dreezy rapping better and badder than most mainstream rappers, exhibiting a catchy hook and great structure over a harder instrumental than most could ask for. The album was a strong debut blending the current modern mainstream genres of trap and R&B well, but it is still raw and rough around the edges, not quite breaking into the exceptional category that a label such as Interscope would come to expect. Whilst there was a lot to be praised, the album tries to emulate a commercially viable sound that instead ends up with a lot of filler that is much of a muchness, resulting in a lot of it sounding like cuts that didn’t quite make Kehlani’s record. However, Dreezy’s latest LP Big Dreez continues to mix the two genres exquisitely, whilst making up for a lot of the inefficiencies of her past project and resolves a lot of the criticisms I had for her debut.

Big Dreez is curated with a clear plan in view. Gone are the skits and filler of her previous album, as her newest body of work clocks in at 31 minutes and nearly half the amount of songs. The structure of the project reads as the first third trap, the second R&B, and then a mixture of both, merging an interesting union of hard-hitting club ignorance and love songs, exhibited by the production credits of high-profile producers such as Pi'erre Bourne and London on da Track. The Southside produced opener ‘Chicken Noodle Soup’ is a testament to her rapping ability, flowing as a singular verse with no chorus or distractions as the sinister beat compliments the blows she dishes out to her competition, before seamlessly transitioning into another high-energy head-bopper ‘Play Wit Ya’. Whilst artists probably find it incredibly insulting for their hard-made work to be compared to someone else, it truly baffles me that the flows, production, and braggadocious lyrics do not get the same critical acclaim as others who aren’t even close to Dreezy’s level, but then I guess the entire point of her opener is to remind everyone of how much greater she is than her competition. The third song and final section of the introductory trap sequence, ‘Chanel Slides’, the lead single of the album, is one of the most commercially viable track from the project and has all of the criteria for a huge hit song. Pi’erre Bourne’s instrumental is as bassy and punchy as you would expect from the ‘Magnolia’ producer, whilst Dreezy and guest Kash Doll exchange verses filled with clever wordplay, catchy choruses, and stunning visuals that reverses the typical gender roles so often seen in hip-hop music videos. The line 'my neck game match my wrist game, flawless victory like I'm Liu Kang' is so unbelievably bouncy and well executed from Kash Doll that it was stuck in my head for about a week after listening to it. This is by far the standout song on the album, without a doubt my favourite, and it is no surprise it was pushed as the lead single.

The next section delves into the R&B chapter of the album, beginning with ‘Showin Out’. The placement of this song in the project is brilliant as it incorporates trap-like drum patterns at a much slower tempo, bringing a smooth transition between not only genres but topics, focusing more on romance and relationships than Chanel bags. This is the first time in the album we hear Dreezy’s singing voice and she switches immaculately between vocal deliveries. This song seems to be an improvement on the general sound of No Hard Feelings, taking all of its best qualities whilst discarding all the things that did not work so well. The concept of love continues with two juxtaposing songs, ‘Ecstasy’ and ‘Love Someone’, featuring Jeremih and Jacquees respectively. The first is a fairly graphic description about what goes on this bedroom in a call and response fashion between the two, acting as a sequel to the pair’s 2016 hit ‘Body’. Again, the newer version is a much improved version of its predecessor, turning away from the somewhat generic sounds of the past and becoming far more intimate and personal. In contrast, Dreezy then leads us into ‘Love Someone’, focusing on the worst parts of a relationship and the heartbreak that ensues and in doing so covers all areas of a romantic relationship in this section of the album.

The last four tracks of the album do continue to fit a good structure that keeps with the identity of the project, but unfortunately are somewhat of a mixed bag. ‘Cash App’ includes a feature from Offset that ultimately seems to only be there as a star name to draw attention, as the song is a sonic anomaly, unable to provide any congruence in the album and performing some poorly timed flows over a phoned-in beat. Meanwhile, ‘No Love’ outcries the pains of not being able to trust those around you when you’re famous and, whilst it may be harsh to dock Dreezy points for this, it is a tired message that gets put on a track of almost every rap album and does not quite make up for the usual good bars and great production. ‘RIP Aretha’ treads the thin line of unbelievably catchy and kind of annoying, repeating what sounds like a chop of Missy Elliot’s ‘holla’ from ‘Get Your Freak On’ over an irritating but irresistible sample; it is kind of a banger and it does provide some gas-worthiness from Dreezy's consistent greatness so I guess it does do its job, but it does not have the same effect on me that 'Chanel Slides' did. The album closer, ‘Where Them $ @’, is a really strong track that sums the entire album up; the introduction is a great head-bopper, the production is fantastic, and Dreezy’s perfect ratio mix of rapping and singing is consistently on point, culminated with the stellar line ‘Ya nigga only see me on the weekend like I'm SZA’ that typifies how much Dreezy has improved since her last album.

At the time of writing (because I am late and got distracted), Cardi B has just taken home the Grammy for best rap album and, again, whilst rappers often dislike being compared to their peers, I personally believe that Big Dreez is the album people think Invasion Of Privacy was. This album has better tracks on it than most of the projects from rap’s so-called greats from 2018 and ticks so many criteria for a successful rap album. My prediction, and fear, is that this will be the most slept-on album all year. Although it has good reviews from fans and critics alike, it seems that the global rap audience is not paying much attention, which I guess is their loss. For now, however, I find it necessary to show everyone I know this album.

Favourite song: 'Chanel Slides'.

8/10