Dreezy – Big Dreez
Released: 25 January 2019
Rating Categories:
★★★★★: Best in show; pinnacle release from an all-time great artist.
★★★★1/2: Stellar example of genre; peak potential.
★★★★: Excellent; recommended to all fans of artist or genre.
★★★1/2: Very good; a few bland songs or minor flaws throughout.
★★★: Good; fans of the artist will find value here.
★★1/2: Average; does little to establish the artist or maintain quality.
★★: Unexceptional; a few highlights but otherwise bland.
★1/2: Weak; unrecommended for anyone but major fans of the style and/or artist.
★: Seriously flawed; very poor work but relatively listenable.
1/2: Terrible; a true embarrassment and akin to audio masochism.
Big Dreez begins with 3 consecutive, trap-inspired songs. I assume Dreezy wanted to give the tape a fast start before diving into slower songs like “Showin Out”, but in exchange, the beginning of the tape feels a bit redundant until you get to the R&B-inspired songs in tracks 4-6.
Tracklist
Chicken Noodle Soup: 3.5/5
Play Wit Ya: 3.75/5 (Dreezy’s flow in verse 1 is nice…but I feel like I’ve heard it before. Migos?)
Chanel Slides (feat Kash Doll): 4/5
Showin Out: 3.75/5
Ecstasy (feat Jeremih): 3.5/5 (Jeremih is the stand out on this track)
Love Someone (feat Jacquees): 4.25/5
Cash App (feat Offset): 3.5/5
RIP Aretha: 4/5 (this beat is wiiillld, Dreezy sounds great over this!)
No Love (feat Derez Deshon): 3.5/5 (Dej Loaf vibes on the hook)
Where Them $ @: 3.5/5
TOTAL: 3.725/5 –
★★★1/2: Very good; a few bland songs or minor flaws throughout.
Some songs like “Cash App” and “Showin Out” feel like they end a bit abruptly, and are begging for a 3rd, additional verse. “No Love (feat Derez Deshon)” specifically deserves an additional verse from Dreezy, because it has the potential to be great with an added 3rd verse to add context to the relationship story she’s telling.
Much of the Big Dreez tape feels a big flex; much of her lyrical content is braggadocio, with relationship woes sprinkled in between tracks like “Love Someone” and “No Love (feat Derez Deshon).
Dreezy separates herself from her peers by commanding the project with her delivery and lyricism alone. Her own presence on a track is enough for the listener to feel fulfilled. Dreezy spits all but 2 verses on this tape solo (with the assistance of Kash Doll and Derez Deshon), and her performances are satisfying. Many of her peers might struggle to lead their own project and rely on the male, superstar guest feature to put the cherry on top of their songs. Not Dreezy.
“5 bitches who I fuck with…/
The rest, I wouldn’t put shit past ’em/
Used to wanna be a good girl/
Now I’m finessing niggas like a rich pastor”/
VERDICT
★★★1/2: My main critique is that I wish Dreezy would close out songs with a 3rd verse, to add meat to the stories she tells. Dreezy’s charisma is one of her best qualities on the mic, and her ability to catch a flow on songs like “Where Them $ @” showcases her abilities as a natural rhymer; we can’t say the same about her many peers who rely on the male guest verse to add legitimacy to their songs. The second verse of “Where Them $ @” is a great example of Dreezy’s ability on the mic. We waiting on that album, Big Dreez!
Check out Dreezy on Angela Yee’s Lip Service by clicking here!