Post by StevePulaski on Jun 11, 2015 23:42:51 GMT -5
Remember My Name (2015)
By: Lil Durk
By: Lil Durk
Rating: ★★★
Lil Durk's debut album Remember My Name has been a project nearly two years in the making, and one has to assume that the ten tracks (plus the two bonus tracks on the deluxe edition) we got with this project weren't foreseen when Durk first announced he'd pursue the album route. Most Chicago rappers, particularly those in the drill genre, stick to mixtapes, or EPs at best, so Def Jam Records' risk in allowing Durk to pursue a release with a pricetag is nothing shy of a gamble. Admittedly, Remember My Name panders to mainstream taste and occasionally forgoes the common attributes in Durk's music that we've come to recognize over the last few years. While uneven and a bit questionable at times, it's hard to completely ignore and write off the talent and variety that comes with this release, which is destined to be one of the more underrated catalog titles of the year.
Durk kicks off the album with "500 Homicides," which unfortunately exploits a recurring problem with Durk's music, which is that he occasionally has a difficult time following the instrumentation he's presented with. While Durk is all over the place with this track, rarely retaining vocal and flow consistency, hard-hitting lines like "silver spoon, you don't know how hunger feels" and "hell yeah, you can die from a retweet" show Durk continuing to try and breed some identity into the plethora of streets and neighborhoods that make up his face on the album's deluxe edition. Following this track is "Amber Alert," a song that has Durk in a tone of voice that sounds at the mercy of his vices and his neighborhood, almost begging for help in a track that shows his ability to be simultaneously melodic and raw.
Durk toys with a plethora of genres here. "Lord Don't Make Me Do It" has R&B, almost funk, flair to it, "Higher" is an autotuned-soaked ballad with a chorus you'll be singing along with in no time, and "Don't Judge Me" has a dazed, soulful hook (that almost sounds like "don't touch me") and has Durk zealously spouting infectious verses that build off one another like a Mad Libs poem. Oddly enough, one of the biggest disappointments on the album is Durk's lead single, "Like Me," a cut-and-paste tune clearly intended for radio airplay and an attempt at mainstream appeal from the artist who conjured up most of his fanbase through cut-throat mixtapes on Datpiff for the last four years. Despite Jeremih's usually commendable presence on the chorus, this tune has little to offer.
The other singles, however, are thoroughly impressive jams. "What Your Life Like" may sound cryptic to many, but if you understand what Durk has been through these last few years (losing his cousin, his label-mate, and his manager to gun violence on top of almost two dozen shows being cancelled because of false accusations of one of his most popular songs, and more), it becomes a telling proclamation of all that Durk has known, set to a gritty and hard-nosed Young Chop beat. "Tryna' Tryna'," produced by L Beats and featuring Logic, even channels the techno sound with its thumping base, especially during the chorus, and has Durk spitting loud rap more akin to his mixtape tracks than anything else on the album.
Durk's talent comes in his ability to transition between a soulful, R&B singer to a sharp-edged rap singer with little-to-no warning, with one track after another surprising in showing what direction Durk will take. Remember My Name has notable misses, and the aforementioned feature provides for evident tonal inconsistency. Yet, despite all that, Durk is, once again, asserting himself as a melodic individual to watch for in the rap game, and, like with each passing track on this album, it's unclear where Durk will go from here.
NOTE: Strangely enough, the titular track, featuring King Popo, is only available on the deluxe edition of the album, in addition to a song known as "Ghetto (Grew Up)," featuring Hypno Carlito. Both songs shed considerable light on Durk's upbringing and drive and, in my opinion, essentially when listening and/or reviewing the album. My blog on Lil Durk will be released this July.
Recommended tracks (in order): "What Your Life Like," "Don't Judge Me," "Amber Alert," "Tryna' Tryna'," "Lord Don't Make Me Do It," and "Higher."