City On Lock

Miami rap duo City Girls had to overcome some serious obstacles on the way to second studio album City on Lock. The two friends had moved quickly from recording a one-off diss track for fun to collaborating with Drake and Cardi B, their audacious throwback Miami rap sound landing them a deal with Quality Control Music. As they were releasing their first widely available recordings in 2018, however, one of the City Girls was facing jail time for credit card fraud charges and the other was the target of a drive-by shooting. They both survived, reuniting on the other side of these hardships with even more energy, attitude, and confrontational spark on the 15 tracks that make up City on Lock. The album stays mostly in one gear for its duration: slow-burning, bass-heavy party bangers. Minimal production focuses on old-school 808 programming, with plenty of space for rappers JT and Yung Miami to spit lyrics about getting money and disregarding haters. Jobs is one of the strongest examples of City Girls at their best, with a slick and simmering groove and both rappers flowing with superhuman confidence. Several guest stars show up, including Yo Gotti, Lil Durk, Lil Baby on the woozy Flewed Out and Doja Cat on the hooky and raw Pussy Talk. Sex, money, and power are the main subjects of focus on City on Lock, but theres also an underlying sense of the deep friendship shared by the two rappers. Closing track Aint Sayin Nothing in particular speaks to the struggles the friends overcame and the loyalty that grew between them by living through tough times. The moments of tenderness are brief and understated, though, with the majority of City on Lock delivering amped-up, belligerent fun. ~ Fred Thomas