YoungBoy Never Broke Again is a 20-year-old MC from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since his emergence in 2016, he’s never really impressed me outside of a few hit singles and features. This year, he’s already put out two projects in “Still Felxin, Still Steppin” and “38 Baby 2”, which both didn’t do anything for me. With that said, he has just released his brand new album “Top”, and I am more intrigued than ever as he has gotten features from hip hop legends Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne. With his biggest release yet, will NBA Youngboy blow me out of the water, or will he continue to set the bar low?
With a 21 song tracklist that runs for about an hour, “Top” quickly becomes a deluded mess of an LP. Commencing things, “Drug Addiction” and “Cross Roads”, start things off on a good note as Youngboy displays his vocal and stylistic versatility. Outside of this, the first half of the record struggles as it is filled with repetitive and generic cuts like “The Last Backyard…”, “Right Foot Creep”, and “Dirty Stick”, which nearly all sound the same. “My Window” with Lil Wayne was a definite standout as Weezy’s energetic performance is a must needed a change of pace. “I’m Up” and “All In” were other cuts I fairly enjoyed as Youngboy puts some heart into his vocals here. The second half is definitely the better portion of the record as the 20-year-old MC ups his game in every way. From his aggressive delivery on “F**k Ya!” to his introspective lyrics on “Dead Trollz” and “Reapers Child”, there’s a lot of potential seen here. With that being stated, this side is not good by any means as songs like “To My Lowest”, “House Arrest Tingz”, and “Peace Hardly” are some of the worst on the entire project. Ending the record, “Callin” with Snoop Dogg finishes things on a strong note as Youngboy, and the Long Beach legend have evident chemistry. While there are small flashes of prominence, Youngboy Never Broke Again still fails to improve his reputation as a whole.
Sonically, the album digs itself into an even deeper hole. The main problem behind the boards is that over half of the songs have a beat that uses the exact same drum pattern. On top of this, the chords and samples are also shared through some songs. This is one of the biggest problems not just here but in all of trap music right now. With that said, there are still salvable moments throughout the album. From the sappy feel of “Cross Roads” to the hard-hitting “F**k Ya!” the record is fairly entertaining at times. As a whole, the repetitive sound of modern trap and the limited ability of NBA Youngboy causes his newest LP to become a sonic failure.
In conclusion, “Top” may have some bangers here and there, but as a whole, it is another unbearably awful record from Youngboy Never Broke Again. Whether it’s his poor lyricism, lifeless flow, or annoying mic presence, almost every song has a reason to never be played again. Going forward, I wish NBA Youngboy would grow as an artist, but as he already has more projects than could be counted, I think he will continue to strive for mediocrity.
Rating: 2.2/10
