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Meek Mill ‘Legends of the Summer’ (2018)

It’s been a rough couple of months for Meek Mill, but it appears that the Philadelphia-born rapper has made a return to the hip hop scene last Friday, after surprising his fans with a brand new EP titled ‘Legends of the Summer’. This is his first official project he has dropped since his release from Chester State Prison in April, earlier this year, and includes some of his best work yet. 

The 4-track EP sports features from Swizz Beatz, Jeremih, PnB Rock and Miguel, and was produced by Hitmaka, Jahlil Beats, Mike DZL, Sin City, and the aforementioned Swizz Beatz. Going into the project blind, I wasn’t anticipating a particular sound, but I definitely wanted his next release to be teeming with conviction and emotion but juxtaposed by hard-hitting lyrics and banging instrumentals, and that’s exactly what ‘Legends of the Summer’ embodies.

The opening track, ‘Millidelphia’ is the perfect banger to introduce the EP. Meek comes out hungrier than ever with a ridiculously hard flow and ruthless energy that packs a punch. This is perfectly matched with Meek’s braggadocious lyrics about money, women and the respect he gets from his city. He references the bible in the line ���Who shall inherit the Earth? Meek” and tops it off with hard-hitting bars about him “jumping on the chopper outta prison”. These bars, his flow, ad-libs and energy alongside the instrumentals and vocals by Swizz Beatz make for one of Meek’s best project introductions of his discogrqphy, and one hell of a Summer anthem.

‘Dangerous’ is the R&B/rap cut of the EP and it goes down tastefully. The slower, smoother track features PnB Rock and Jeremih on the hook, creating a sensual sound which is the highest point of the song. From there, Meek takes over, with two verses, explicitly detailing the relationship between him and his girl. At times, it felt like a generic R&B song and some lines felt out of place next to the romantic hooks and passionate verses from PnB Rock and Jeremih, as well as the love song type beat. Regardless, ‘Dangerous’ is an enjoyable R&B/rap fusion that will most likely be an R&B radio hit in the weeks to come.

The third song is a solo jaunt titled ‘1am’. It’s an energetic club banger with a bouncy, fast paced drum and bass provided by Meek’s long-time friend and collaborator, Jahlil Beats. It seems like Meek pays homage to Hova with a parallel interpolation of the hook from JAY-Z’s 1999 hit “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)” and fans have found that it’s reminiscent of his earlier club bangers like ‘House Party’ from first mixtape, ‘Dreamchasers’. Despite the song’s addictive beat and Meek’s energy, it is arguably the weakest song off the EP as some lines like “shittin’ on ‘em like a port-a-potty” seem pretentious and evidently fall well below the bar that has been set by the other 3 tracks.

‘Stay Woke’ is a politically charged, introspective song that Meek premiered during last month’s BET Awards. Unlike the other 3 records, Meek expresses a more insightful, deeper point of view and touches on numerous sub themes including racism, corruption, drug addiction and the way in which an environment poses as barriers to aspiration which all tie into each other very nicely. Although his curse words and reckless ways were kept at a minimum, it still had a rebellious tone that reiterated the acrimony and conviction in his voice as he spoke about theses societal issues. Lyrically, ‘Stay Woke’ highlights his song-writing capability and might even be the best song Meek has ever written. He paints an elaborate picture through the sheer simplicity of lines like “I used to play the quarterback, my dog would go receiver, that was 'til the ball got flat by a dope needle on the pavement” that left me with goosebumps. The powerful but melodic Miguel vocals go over perfectly as well. In my eyes, ‘Stay Woke’ is a strong contender for my song of the year so far.

Overall, this EP is one of Meek Mill’s best bodies of work. Despite the entirety of project being just past the13 minute mark, each of the 4 tracks carry their own weight, which is a refreshing change in a day and age where artists release hour long albums of filler lyrics and unmemorable hooks. Although ‘Legends of the Summer’ isn’t faultless, it definitely has something for everyone – a street anthem, an R&B love song, a club banger and a conscious rap song – and has undoubtedly created anticipation for his next album release. It looks like Meek Mill is back, and better than ever.