Key Glock
Megan Thee Stallion Starts To Open Up On The Confessional ‘Traumazine’
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
In the lead-up to her second album Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion repeatedly noted that it had more emotionally-charged themes and greater vulnerability than her debut, Good News. In a June interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “I want to take you through so many different emotions. At first you was twerking, now you might be crying.”
She reiterated the sentiment in an August Q&A session on Twitter. “I wrote this album for myself,” she admitted. “I wanted to start writing in a journal but I said f*ck it I’ll put it in a song.” She also confessed that “saying certain things you’ve never said out loud before is hard.” Fans understandably presumed that this meant the Houston rapper would address the various public misfortunes that had befallen her since her Tina Snow EP rocketed her to stardom.
Traumazine delivers on Megan’s promises, but it doesn’t stray too far from her established formula. Production-wise, it runs the gamut from Thee Stallion’s preferred speaker knocking Texas trap to a very on-trend detour into Miami Bass and house, while lyrically, Megan returns to the rapid-fire freestyle form that first impressed her fans, peers, and early mentor Q-Tip. The newer, more confessional attitude peppers her hard-hitting, boastful verses with lines that hide the hurt behind defiant bluster.
On songs like “Not Nice,” Megan’s gift for storytelling comes to the fore. “I kept your bills paid. You were sick, I paid for surgery,” she reminds a disloyal acquaintance. “But I pray you boo-hoo, do me wrong, where they deserve to be.” The specificity of her examples lends weight to her jabs – for every verbal right cross, someone has crossed her. Meg’s also unafraid to drop the facade of the tough-girl rapper and bluntly state a long-standing issue. On “Anxiety,” she wishes she could “write a letter to Heaven” so she can “tell my mama that I shoulda been listenin’.” I just wan’ talk to somebody that get me,” she accepts.
But even with the more vulnerable material here, Meg shines brightest when she sticks to the brash, explicit material that defines breakout hits like “Big Ole Freak” and “WAP.” “Ms. Nasty,” which pairs a thumping bass kick with an ‘80s R&B melody, offers another worthwhile inclusion to this tradition, opening with the straightforward come-on “I want you to dog this cat out, whip it like a trap house / Stand up in that pussy, stomp the yard like a frat house.” “Pressurelicious” with Future and “Budgets” with Latto match this energy, the latter pairing working best. We need more songs with these two together.
Other guests include Rico Nasty, with whom Meg displays incredible chemistry on “Scary,” Key Glock, who gifts her a suitably spiteful verse on “Ungrateful,” and Pooh Shiesty, who makes fans feel his absence from the spotlight (he’s currently locked up on a gun charge, facing a eight-year sentence) on “Who Me.” There are also contributions from R&B singers Jhene Aiko and Lucky Daye, which have the unfortunate side effect of highlighting the weaknesses of Meg’s own singing voice. She’s at her best spitting bruising bars with her gruff Texas twang as she does alongside her Lone Star compatriots on “Southside Royalty Freestyle”; when she tries to croon her own choruses, the effect feels raw and unpolished — and not in a good way.
The pop swings are also hit-and-miss. While “Her” fits in among the Beyonce-inspired post-Renaissance wave of future ball favorites, “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa sounds like Meg chasing the success of peers like Doja Cat. This misunderstands what listeners want from the two artists. Meg wins because of tracks like “Gift & Curse,” “Who Me,” and “Scary.” Give her a lush, groovy soul sample and an 808 to vent her frustrations over, you get the verses on “Flip Flop.” These are the kinds of songs at which Meg excels. The added emotional depth is a bonus, adding relatability to her aspirational boldness. This will be the formula for Meg’s future success.
Traumazine is out now on 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment. Get it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Best New Music This Week: Brent Faiyaz, Burna Boy, Ken Carson, and More
Brent Faiyaz, “Role Model”
Burna Boy f/ Popcaan, “Toni-Ann Singh”
Ken Carson, “Go”
Doechii, “Bitch I’m Nice”
Westside Gunn, “Danhausen”
Fivo Foreign & Kid LAROI, “Paris To Tokyo”
Murda Beatz f/ Quavo, Pharrell, J Balvin & Anitta, “No Mas”
Joey Badass, “Survivor’s Guilt”
SiR f/ Scribz Riley, “Life Is Good”
Key Glock, “Diapers”
Key Glock Flexes On ‘Diapers,’ A New Song With A Cash-Filled Music Video
This year, Key Glock has been working tirelessly, releasing song after song after song, with videos as well. He released “No Choice” last month, as well as “12AM” and a remix of Denzel Curry’s “Walkin.” In March, he unveiled the deluxe version of 2021’s Yellow Tape 2, which had 30 songs and no features.
The 24-year-old rapper is back today with “Diapers,” a two-minute track with a seamless flow full of flexes and quips: “First name Michael, I ball like Michael / Tyson, 10-carats in rings bitin’ / Came in f*cking sh*t up, Joe Biden.” It also comes with a video with lots of smoke, wads of cash, and an appearance from Big Moochie Grape.
In April, the Memphis native was asked in an interview with Mormon how he’s been doing since the death of Young Dolph, who was his friend and was tragically shot and killed in his hometown of Memphis while shopping at a bakery. “I’m maintaining,” Glock said. “Like, I’m not getting better, I’m not getting worse. I’m just here right now.” He continued, “I can’t shake it, man. I ain’t even gonna lie. I can’t even shake it. It is what it is.”
Watch the video for “Diapers” above.
[WATCH] Key Glock Releases “712AM” Freestyle and Video
Key Glock has jacked Future for his “712PM” single to deliver the “712AM” freestyle and supporting video.
The release of the “712AM” freestyle follows the release of the deluxe edition of the Yellow Tape 2 and the supporting Yellow Tape Tour. On the track, Glock floats across the beat, flexin bars of Hellcats, and more. In the video, Glock pulls up to the studio to work with the rest of Paper Route Empire.
You can see the full video below.
The post [WATCH] Key Glock Releases “712AM” Freestyle and Video appeared first on The Source.
Key Glock Shares His Take On Future’s ‘712AM’ In His New Video
One of the gems within Hip-Hop is when an artist puts their own spin on a song that another rapper has already put out. Back in late April, Future released his ninth studio album I Never Liked You which kicks off with the high-energy “712AM” produced by Wheezy and TM88. Today, Key Glock decided he wanted to try his hand at the track with his latest video of the same name.
The Memphis rapper rides around in his yellow vehicle, following a similar cadence to Future’s but ensuring he doesn’t sound like a copycat. The video follows the 24-year-old as he sips lean, makes a trip to the store, and lands at the studio with some of his crew because the raps can never stop, even while he’s rapping. It is braggadocious energy galore, and rightfully so.
For Key Glock, “712AM” follows his remix to Denzel Curry’s “Walkin” in early June. In March, he shared the deluxe version of 2021’s Yellow Tape 2, rounding the album out at 30 songs and no features. While there’s no mention of an upcoming project, Glock is keeping the momentum strong and showing his ability to excel at other people’s beats in addition to his own with the latest “712AM”
Check out the video for “712AM” above.
Key Glock Has ‘No Choice’ But To Hustle In His Somber New Video
Even in the wake of Young Dolph’s passing, his protege Key Glock is carrying the torch for Paper Route Empire, continuing to support the deluxe version of his 2021 album, Yellow Tape 2. His latest release is the video for “No Choice,” which sees him return to the snowy landscape from his and Dolph’s Dum And Dummer 2 videos as he ruminates on his “hustle or die” mentality over a soulful loop. Shots of Glock on tour, rapping on stage, and even playing basketball are interspersed throughout.
The Memphis native recently gave his first interview since his mentor was shot and killed in front of a local bakery last year, detailing how Dolph’s death has affected him. “I’m maintaining,” he said. “I’m not getting better, I’m not getting worse. I’m just here right now. I can’t shake it, man. I ain’t even gonna lie. I can’t even shake it. It is what it is.”
Since then, though, he has done his best to make Dolph proud — even releasing a single on the label compilation paying tribute to their fallen leader called “Proud” — and dropped videos for “Painkillers” and “Play For Keeps,” as well as appearing in the video for Gucci Mane’s “Blood All On It,” which also featured a verse from the late Dolph.
Watch Key Glock’s “No Choice” video above.
Key Glock Blasts People Who ‘Fake F*cked With Me’ When Young Dolph Was Alive: ‘Now They True Colors Showing’
