After an almost immediate hiatus following the social media stir with Krept & Konan’s where he essentially referred to them “glory hunting” Giggs returns with his fifth studio album”Bad Bad” the follow-up to the 2017 street album (mixtape) Wamp 2 Dem(read my review of that here). As I alluded to in my conclusion his last project felt like a best of opposed to anything fresh.
I expect some moments on Big Bad which can really
1. Great Collectives ft GASHI
I’m not sure what film the backing sounds are from but it most definitely gives the album a superhero feel. Also, I like how it gets really dark intermittently (starting at the 1-minute mark), didn’t need this GASHI bloke though.
2. Set It Off
The introduction was cool, this feels like he’s still warming up. It could’ve equally cut it as an intro. He hasn’t fully Set It Off yet.
3. 187
Highest replay value so far, mid-tempo haunting production. I’m not hearing anything fresh yet which is making me do anything more than casually head bop though. This beat should’ve been a few BPM’s higher to push Giggs to murder(187) it. I am left wanting him to completely spin it.
4. Baby
Ok, club banger alert it’s the Looked What The Cat Dragged In and Monsta Man flavors. Although, this is not completely different from the classics I like this impromptu Giggs where the song feels like an off the top freestyle.
“Sh*t’s Madagascar, When the monkeys made a poo scatter” hahahaha
5. Spun It*
Wow, now, this is monstrous, this is what Giggs can do what others can’t. He internalizes the banging energy of the Mazza/RasEye VII beat and spews out rawness. This is my favorite song so far by a long distance, straight screwface.
“Hella struggle (Struggle) ‘Member I was ‘lone, couldn’t get a cuddle (No)”
6. Mic Check ft Jadakiss
I didn’t really like the US features on WAMP 2 DEM with exception of the 2 Chainz one which grew on me crazy. Kiss is nice on Mic Check though, his verse could’ve even been longer it ends a bit abruptly.
7. Show Me Respect
Ok, this caught me off guard a more old-school boom-bap hip hop style beat. Not feeling it though, I got bored halfway through it. Seems like this might have been a somewhat shot and the “GoalHangers”.
8. Talk About It ft Kristian Hamilton & Theophilus London
This really ain’t it chief, some positive messages in this but nah.
9. Don’t Go Hungry ft Labrinth
Labrinth is on his John Legend here. I really never knew the guy had the vocals like that. On songs like this, the vocalist compliments Giggs’s narrative very well where he is talking about taking care of the woman in his life.
“Eat right, we don’t eat rotten, uh This hotspot, baby, please hop in”
10. Run Me Down ft Ghetts
With Giggs and Ghetts on a track, my expectancy even before hearing this is that this will be high intensity back to back bars. The thing is I really didnt like this hook, even with Ghetts really trying to be inventive with his flows this is exceedingly boring.
11. Nostalgia ft Lil Yatchy
Another beat from the generic american trap shopping bag. Lil Yatchy? really Giggs?
12. Hold Up ft French Montana
Another American flopped feature, Giggs needs to drop out these Americans and do more UK features. This song sounds dated.
13. You Aint…
These are the same type of tracks on WAMP 2 DEM which are just dead extras.
14. Who
Finally some more creativity I rate the he “switched it” up and gave us some Peligro Steelpan type vibe. The stop-start flow sits so well on this it’s almost like a novel the way he’s recalling stories.
“Old friends, we don’t talk much, nah No point, shouldn’t force stuff”
15. Turnt
I know I said I didn’t want anymore trap vibes but when its some spooky bounce like this tunes can run. I think what is when the production originates from
16. Terminator ft Swizz Beatz*
Now Come Again, this is a certified banger. Giggs if you’re going to get US production don’t use the generic trap guys. I want this level or nothing for albums. Mark my words this is a classic, I’m talking KMT level, one the best songs he’s made in years.
“Cinderella dreams, but don’t need the shoes, We don’t
got degrees, but we livin’ huge”
17. Gwop Expenses ft Wretch 32*
The intros to these songs are really long aren’t they?This is a big improvement on the Ghetts feature; the back to back on this istoo smooth. I want some glossy visuals for this and Terminator.
18. Shade
Not really the close out i was expecting but cool all the same.
As I expected this album is a big step-up from WAMP 2DEM. Although, light on quality emotional story-telling (e.g. The Essence) there were different shades of Giggs largely driven by the trap production. I’m getting bored with the production he uses for this trap hip hop songs when it originates from the US and trash features which come with them (French Montana and Lil Yatchy). He sounds a lot fresher on songs like Spun It.
Overall, I would say there were 6 average songs which I will skip over but this was a strong album all the same. I want to see more UK artists on his next projects and less washed up trap sounds, its getting boring.
Top 3 Tracks: Spun It, Terminator , Gwop Expenses
Rating: 8/10
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