Since February 5th of this year, I have been constantly asked to review Pooh Shiesty’s breakout mixtape Shiesty Season. After seven months of classic memes, questionable comments, and a failed campaign to get the 1017 affiliate on my podcast, I have finally decided to put my brain cells together and review Pooh’s magnum opus. With a chance at becoming the first 10 in Fantastic Hip Hop history, will Shiesty Season live up to its hype?
Now I could sit here and ramble about how this record is a masterpiece, but instead, I’m going to be brutally honest for the sake of my credibility and perfect review streak. Shiesty Season is a trap project and a very predictable one at that. Through 17 tracks, we listen to a rapper who goes by the name of Pooh run through the dying sub-genres array of flexes to establish dominance over his other mediocre contemporaries.
Jokes aside, Shiesty Season is pretty well put together for a basic trap record between its overall good soundscape, exciting features, and formidable performance from the genius himself, Pooh. The 21 Savage collaboration “Box of Churches” captures this best with its combination of an angelic trap beat, a charismatic performance from Shiest lord Pooh, and hard verse from the Slaughter Gang leader himself. Speaking of slaughters, Pooh shines the brightest when talking about his street record and troubled past as a whole. The in-your-face “Making A Mess” and intense mentor-prodigy mashup with Gucci Mane “Ugly” showcase this at its pinnacle. When it comes to the banger collabs on this project, none are better than the instant classic “Back In Blood” with Lil Durk. As a whole, it’s moments like these that spice Shiesty Season up and make it a slightly above-average trap experience in 2021.
As an MC, Pooh Shiesty does a pretty good job at showcasing his strengths and hiding his weaknesses. Overall he gives very low energy, but this doesn’t end up as an issue due to his masterful beat selection and emphasis on each word he excretes. Tying everything he does together, Shiesty’s signature “buuurrrrr” adlib heightens the power of the track’s entire atmosphere. This may sound like a joke, but I swear I’m serious, Pooh Shiesty is a lot more solid than the game gives him credit for.
As a whole, my love for Shiesty Season started out as a joke, but it’s actually a very solid tape for what it is. In a year that’s had some of the worst trap music ever, this is definitely one of the better releases to come out of the subgenre for a whole, and Pooh’s fairly interesting character makes this experience all the more fun. Please come on my podcast now Pooh.
Rating: 5.9/10
Pros:
- Fun trap bangers
- Pooh Shiesty puts together a solid performance
- Good features
- Great beat selection
Cons:
- It’s a basic trap project, so the ceilings only so high
- Tracklist drags at times
Written By: Mr. Fantastic
