Waka Flocka Flame

★ 8.3

album

Salute Me or Shoot Me 2

“No one could tell me shit back in 2010 when I downloaded this mixtape before school one day. "Hard in the Paint" had me in a chokehold (as well as "O Let's Do It" from the first "Salute Me or Shoot Me" tape) and didn't look back. I kind of figured that this project would always have a place in my heart, but when I ran it back on my iPod Classic, all the bars and adlibs popped back up in my head like those never left. Waka Flocka has shown some slight improvement from his previous couple of mixtapes, but SMOSM 2 is one I feel where he found his stride in crafting his own lane for himself. His chants and bars are filled with quotables that are present throughout, some of which I'll still proudly piss off chanting loud like I was doing years ago. And with production handled by Lex Luger, Mike WiLL Made-It, Southside, as well as others, the sound doesn't sound stale at all, as Waka attacks each trap sound relevant to 2008/2009 differently and still accomplish pretty much the same results. Shout out to both Trap-A-Holics and DJ Ace for sequencing this flawlessly to make this flow smooth, still sounding a bit fresh to this day. Also, though I tend to criticize the mixing a bit, I did the same for this until I realized that the poor mixing helps reflect the "down south gutter music" at the time (Waka's words, not mine.... "shawty, that's the fuckin' movement!".) "Hard in da Paint" will always be a hood classic for me, but other bangers like "Same Shit", "I'm Just Livin Life", and "Lambo Dis Summer" also exist on here and grateful for it. "Salute Me or Shoot Me 2" admittedly does not sound as good in the back half (I'm looking at YOU, "Down Ass Girl, Part 2"), but still nostalgic as a whole that pretty much shaped my individual music taste.”

two cents reviews

@my.two.cents.reviews