This Valee and Harry Fraud album titled Virtuoso is the latest collaboration project from the superproducer and Chicago rapper. The project comes in at 11 tracks and lasts just under 30 minutes. Features come from MAVI, Action Bronson, Saba, Twista, and more. Harry crafts atmospheric and hazy beats as well as more soulful-sounding ones. All of them have a certain uniqueness, which keeps the project from becoming repetitive from a production standpoint. However, on most of the tracks, Harry’s production outshines the dull and simplistic verses from Valee. Sometimes his unique, almost emotionless flow fits in well with the tone. However, in most moments, it serves as a hindrance and highlights a lack of cohesion between the verses and the production itself.
Valee Mostly Comes Up Short
The subject matter on this Virtuoso by Valee and Harry Fraud gets repetitive quite quickly. The issue comes from how the rapper approaches these topics – not the topics themselves. Lines about cars are all over the project, but the way he describes them becomes repetitive, surface-level, and simply not creative. The same comes from his details about his lean usage, shopping, or escapades with women.
Sometimes it seems like Valee tries to fit too many words into a line, resulting in him rushing through it in an attempt to stay on beat. Other moments find him almost mumbling through verses or hooks, as if he’s tired or having trouble reading or remembering them. However, his melodic flow in the opener “Sea Bass” is perhaps the strongest moment of the project. Meanwhile, in “Dutty Laundry” and “Washington Wizard,” his lazy flow is just bouncy enough to work with Harry’s dreamy production.
Valee Often Gets Outshined By His Features
One of the most unfortunate aspects of Virtuoso by Valee and Harry Fraud is how the rapper gets outshined by his features. 03 Greedo’s verse on “About That” sounds as if he only heard the hook of the song as his verse is based on his personal struggles, while Valee’s verse is nothing of the sort. Saba and MAVI, who are both on “Watermelon Automobile,” are known for introspective verses in their solo music. Their departure from this is refreshing and fun as they flow over a variety of synth noises from Harry Fraud. Their flows only highlight how lackadaisical Valee’s is. Twista offers his signature rapid-fire flow on “WTF,” but even considering his topic alone, it is far more stimulating than when Valee talked about the same thing only moments earlier.
Valee & Harry Fraud Mostly Lack Chemistry
Virtuoso by Valee and Harry Fraud is a collab project, but the chemistry falls short with Valee, who does not hold his weight in the collab. Listeners may find themselves more attached to Harry’s dynamic production and hoping for an instrumental expansion of the project. A majority of the time, Valee simply does not excel in his attempts to do what he’s on the project to do – rap. The strong moments completely overshadow the multitude of weaker ones, and there aren’t many of the former, to begin with. With most of the songs being just over the two-minute mark, they quickly become forgettable. This is especially considering how the hooks simply are not catchy or engaging. This one, while not completely skippable, still deserves a fair shot as listeners may find redeeming factors amongst the flaws.
*The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of HotNewHipHop.
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