When I saw the album title I was intrigued, it forshadowed that I was going to be getting an insight on Fredo's thoughts at this current state.
The project starts off with the track "Biggest Mistake". In this song he talks about his entry to the roads, the way its told is clear and easy for an outsider to IMAGINE. The simple lyric
"bringin' me back to that shitty estate
Was my probably my Mum's biggest mistake"
But she never grew up or lived in this place
Met my dad here, thinks the city is great" Paints a picture of the disconnect that many parents have with their kids because they did not grow up in the same environment they did. The song let us know what it was like to be product of your environment. Fredo mentioned that he met Dave's brother in jail before he even met Dave, this made me appreciate the "Funky Friday" success even more.
The surprise track on there was the Summer Walker collaboration, on the legendart Fugees "Ready or Not" beat. Fredo bodied that beat, but it seemed like he was rapping for a bit too long, also I don't he got the most out of Summer Walker on that record. Overall I left the song underwhelmed. "Burner On Deck" with Pop Smoke & Young Adz started off very bright but it felt like it was over too quickly.
Fredo really stepped out of his comfort zone with "Do You Right" where he was rapping melodic all the way through. He was giving you the normal bragadocious Fredo but through a brand new angle showing that he can keep up with this wave sound that is sweeping the UK. Good track.
The late stages of album Fredo gets personal. In " I Miss" he becomes reminiscent of his past with bars like " I miss going halves on a draw" a little thing that indicates that he misses being young broke and innocent something that we can all relate too.
"What Can I Say" is a deep heartfelt record to his fallen friends which really makes the listener empathise with his grief. "Fuck money and fame lost two of my members now nothings the same" . This is a deep message when you look at the title of the album, because what he done, was show you all the littness he experiences at the start, but at the very last track he reminds you that he is still hurt and grieving and money cannot cure that pain. Very thoughtful way to close the project.
Overall the project was good, my only criticism is that he could of switched his style of beats a bit more, it would have given us an oppurtunity to really dive into his lyrics.
7/10, Best Tracks: Back to Basics, Biggest Mistake, & What Can I Say
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