What It Means to Be King

In a genre where an artists death is often nothing more than an opportunity for relentless cash-ins, What It Means to Be King is a rare, respectful tribute to the rapper it claims to represent. King Vons first posthumous LP arrives without radio-ready collaborators or garish merch deals; instead, WIMTBK dedicates its hefty 19-track run to bloodthirst and boasting. Bizarrely, some of Vons most high-octane material seems to have been left in the vault: the Von of WIMTBK is a relentless soldier, a sadist metering out death while cackling out of the car window. With adrenaline flooding in, he blasts through the sauced-up drill of "Straight to It" and the dismissive "Mad," bringing an outlandish energy matched by few in the industry. Back-to-back performances with Fivio Foreign ("Straight to It"), OMB Peezy ("Get It Done"), and G Herbo ("Facetime") make for the highest highs of all, while fan favorites like "Evil Twins" and "Grandson for President" make their welcome debut on streaming services. Theres no watering-down Vons violence, here -- fans of the rapper may relish his murderous outbursts; outsiders may find them repulsive. As expected, the projects lighter material provides most of its pitfalls: "My Fault" is corny and unfeeling with a limp appearance from A Boogie, "Hard to Trust" stumbles toward the finish line in half-time, and "Dont Play That" squanders a 21 Savage appearance with half-rhymes and parodic production. "Trust Nothing," undeniably the worst of the lot, is an ugly cluster of misogyny and sexual assault -- a solid verse from Moneybagg Yo would have been better placed elsewhere. Despite its questionable content, its impressive to see a posthumous rap release which affords so much respect to the ethos of its late creator. Of course, no album is completely safe from tampering -- much of WIMTBKs namedropping has been cleverly edited out, and the fan favorite "Story of JR" has been mangled into the noticeably shorter "Where Im From" -- but Vons first posthumous tribute nonetheless proves a candid reflection of the late artist. This is Von, warts and all. ~ David Crone

2020年に急逝したシカゴの人気ラッパーの遺作となる昨年のアルバムがフィジカル化。リル・ダークやG・ハーボ、21サヴェージら錚々たる面々の参加からも故人がどれだけ期待されていたかが感じ取れ、随所で持ち味である唾の飛んできそうな猛スピットが聴ける。なかでもファイヴィオ・フォーリンとのハードなドリル曲"Straight To It"が圧巻。
bounce (C)Masso 187um