Snootie Wild - "Ain't No Stoppin' Me"

[StevePulaski]

Ain't No Stoppin' Me (2015)
By: Snootie Wild

Rating: ★★½

Eight months after releasing his debut EP Go Mode, which included the monstrous street single "Yayo" and its faithful successor "Made Me," Memphis-born rapper Snootie Wild returns with his debut mixtape Ain't No Stoppin' Me. In an interview during South by Southwest, Snootie states that his "Ain't No Stoppin' Me" slogan is to follow up his "Go Mode" campaign to stay motivated, minimize distractions, and continue making good music for his fans. "The haters are on the sidelines like cheerleaders waitin' for your downfall," Snootie stated in the interview, in a wryly funny way, before concluding with his statement to anybody going through the motions or pretending to be a supporter to "quit faking it." If only his track "Who Fakin'?" made it on the final cut for this particular mixtape.

There's little faking on Ain't No Stoppin' Me; the mixtape bears the same kind of unique sound Go Mode did, and shows Snootie at his most prolific in terms of tracks and singles (four singles were released before the release of this mixtape, with all but "Play Wit a Brick" making the final cut). It also shows that Snootie is a rapper who is trying to make his each one of his songs sound different from the next, usually in terms of his flow or his accent. Sometimes he assumes a raspy southern drawl, and others, he uses his quasi-Jamaican accent that we saw used to sublime effect on "Yayo."

Snootie opens the mixtape with "Street Warrior," a song that would be great had it not featured so many spoken word interludes, interrupting Snootie whenever he seems to be getting started. Part of the track wants to be an introduction saved exclusively for the mixtape and the other part wants to be a regular song that can be listened to on its own. The one valuable insight Snootie brings to the song is when he defines what a "street warrior" actually is, saying, "if you provide for your family, you a street warrior." It's an explanation probably better suited for the beginning of the song, but it also sets up the kind of trap-infused, grimy sound we're about to get on this mixtape.

"Street Warrior" is followed by "Rich or Not," one of the album's lead singles, that analyzes Snootie's options growing up poor in Memphis. It doesn't get many points for being unique, but when it comes to how infectious it is, it's off the charts in terms of being an addictive listen. That's the common ground between all of Snootie's strongest tracks on this tape - they all bear the appeal of being fun trap romps that, immediately after they conclude, you want to hear them again in case you missed any genius. Two additional songs of similar caliber are "Broke Bitches," with Snootie toying with his sound even more by adding a jivey, pop beat in the mix while basically gliding along the beat," and "Benzo," which has a more soulful edge in its chorus, one that sounds vaguely like cloud rap.

Snootie persists on for a pleasantly concise thirteen tracks, clocking in at forty minutes. This, again, prevents overload, and provides us with more substance than the barely twenty minute Go Mode. Snootie takes a few risks with tackling a romance ballad later on in the mixtape with "Roxanne," an interesting track if burdened by a weak chorus, and gives his guns some love in "Gunplay." He goes on to rant on the haters in the occasionally funny but thoroughly misguided "STFU 2," one of the album's only real missteps alongside "Hatin'," which features Lil Boosie. If a song on the mixtape missteps, it's mainly because of the fact that its repetitive factor is simply too much and not as addicting as it could be, or the subject matter is tired and worn (both songs accentuate those principles, respectively).

Ain't No Stoppin' Me was the "feast" I predicted we'd inevitably get from Snootie Wild when in the conclusion to my review of Go Mode. Here's an incredibly visceral talent, who, at a young age, has given his music a unique sound in a sea of interchangeability and has turned his work ethic into several addicting slogans. He proves with this mixtape that even if he isn't achieving the kind of success he did with "Yayo," he's still not a name you're going to want to forget.

Recommend tracks (in order): "Broke Bitches," "Benzo," "Rich or Not," "Shut Me Down," and "Fashion."