Today, I'm reviewing the brand new mixtape from Chicago rapper Lil Durk, Signed to the Streets 2. This guy is a young, up-and-coming artist who is a big part of the new "drill music" going on in Chicago right now. This also includes guys like Chief Keef, Lil Bibby, and Lil Herb, who released a really solid tape earlier this year. Durk was a 2014 XXL Freshman, and produced a lot of hype with the first Signed to the Streets mixtape, which was pretty decent. How will his new project fare?
Lil Durk is just okay as an MC. I know this guy is still young, but he leaves some technical ability to be desired on this tape. He uses the same flow on a lot of these songs, and his rhyme scheme is pretty basic. On the other hand, Durk, much like Lil Herb, has fantastic delivery. This guy commands a lot of attention on tracks because of his pure hunger and energy. To me, Durk always spits like he has something to prove, as he just sounds angry and powerful on these verses. A huge part of this mixtape is auto-tune, which is kind of a hit or miss for Lil Durk. Sometimes the auto tune songs are really good, and one of them in particular is absolutely stellar: Don't Take It Personal. Everything about this song works, from the insanely catchy hook to Durk's energetic verses. This was by far the standout song of the whole project. Some other auto tune songs I enjoyed were War Wit Us, Feds Listenin, and What You Do To Me. I also liked a few tracks that didn't have auto tune, like Ready For Em and Don't Know Me. Unfortunately though, there are so many forgettable songs on this tape. A lot of them are too similar in sound, with lame auto tune choruses, and generic Durk verses. Ten Four, Rumors,Party, I Made It, Gas and Mud, Perfect Picture, and Hell In My City were all so forgettable and boring, in my opinion. As far as features go, there weren't many, and I wish there were more. Lil Durk is not at that level yet where he can carry a whole project by himself. The one track that had features, Lil N***az, was another boring song that had dull verses from Migos and an awful one from Cash Out. Overall, Lil Durk showed potential on Signed to the Streets 2, but the end result was not great. A few really good songs saved this mixtape from being bad, but it still was decent at best.
With the beats on Signed to the Streets 2, there is not much to say. This mixtape is full of standard, boring drill music instrumentals. None of these beats really stand out from one another. One positive I can give to production is that it matches Lil Durk's energy. These beats are loud, and are perfect for the way Durk is spitting. It's just that the beats are not good. Some of them had little things that separated them from each other, such as some piano keys or female singing vocals, but these changes just were not strong to give this mixtape any variety. While I thought the production on this album was pretty weak, I will say that it was not surprising and that I didn't expect anything different going into this project.
SIGNED TO THE STREETS 2 WRAP UP
+Lil Durk brings lots of energy to the mic, and has some interesting flows
+A few great hooks
-Boring, weak production
-No variety
Best: War Wit Us, Don't Take It Personal, What You Do To Me
Worst: Live It Up
Lil Durk- Signed to the Streets 2
6.0/10
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