Listen to Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers 4 mixtape
Okay, back to the music.
Sure, the Meek Mill headlines about beefs and smack talk can be entertaining, but the dude makes records too, and let’s keep that in the forefront. The latest installment in Meek’s ongoing series of Dreamchasers mixtapes showed up on Spotify today, and it’s below for your listening pleasure.
Like past installments of the series, it can be a bit of a mixed bag; while some artists treat the mixtape / self-release format with every bit as care as they would a commercial album (whaddup Saba and the #BucketListProject), others just use it as a vehicle to be in the moment and get their shit out there, clear the table of loose ends and ideas so they can begin anew. Meek definitely falls in the latter camp, which is not a bad thing. His mixtapes always have moments of brilliance; recall that the infectious hit “Amen” started out as a track on Dreamchasers 2. But historically, his best stuff has been saved for his commercial full-lengths like 2015’s Dreams Worth More than Money, and Dreamchasers 4 should be listened to with that in mind.
That’s not to say it’s bad. It’s pretty badass, actually, but a lot of it finds Meek in club banger mode — which can feel repetitive after a while. “Shine” is the first song of the set to really stand out; Meek excels at motivational / inspirational cuts about being on the grind, and this is another great one of those. It’ll get the hook “There’s no roof so they can see me shine” stuck in your head, to boot.
Later in the set, there’s an unexpected moment of subtlety on “Blue Notes,” which brings the vibe way down to some serene space guitar licks and melodic singing. it made me think I’d clicked over to a Pink Floyd deep cut by accident, but then the downbeat drum loop kicked in and Meek started spitting fire. Not bad.
Also worth noting is the hit parade of collaborators, from Meek’s partner Nicki Minaj and fellow Philadelphian Lil Uzi Vert on “Froze” to Young Thug and 21 Savage on “Offended.”
Take a listen to Dreamchasers 4below, and catch Meek Mill at Wells Fargo Center tonight for the Powerhouse tour with Trey Songs, Desiigner and more. Tickets and more information on the show can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar.