This is how we really feel about Durk’s newest LP.
It’s clear from Lil Durk‘s newest album Deep Ideas that the incarcerated Chicago rapper has quite a bit to get off his chest. Durk’s been behind bars since final October, when he was arrested on murder-for-hire costs associated to the 2022 killing of Saviay’a “Lul Pab” Robinson. (Durk has plead not responsible and is presently awaiting trial.)
As one of many first rappers to emerge out of the 2010s Chicago drill motion, Lil Durk’s pioneering motion was born out of years of trauma and hardship, most of which has continued to spill into his music through the years. Whereas the radio-friendly vibe of the rapper’s 2023 LP Nearly Healed lastly indicated Durk was prepared to show the web page to one thing extra optimistic, Deep Ideas pulls the Chicago lyricist proper again into the trenches.
Whereas the uplifting vitality of Nearly Healed in the end led to Durk’s first Grammy win for “All My Life,” the temper of this new venture is extraordinarily darkish, with little or no radio-friendly brevity when in comparison with its predecessor. However the darkness is the place Durk’s penmanship has at all times flourished, and in flip, Deep Ideas affords up a number of the most weak bars of the rapper’s profession.
With only a handful of options from Future, Lil Child, Jhené Aiko and Hunxho, Lil Durk’s ninth studio album is generally a solo affair. Whereas there may be loads of warmth on this tape, some tracks are in the end higher than others. Right here is the place Billboard believes all 17 songs stand on Deep Ideas.
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“Late Checkout” (feat. Hunxho)
It’s not that “Late Checkout” is a nasty track. In truth, each Durk and Hunxho are of their bag as they skate alongside this sensual ode to their vital others. It’s simply {that a} track so actually and viscerally about having good intercourse arriving so late in an album this weak in the end feels misplaced. Durk spends the venture’s first 11 songs talking on the lack of household, buddies, his wrestle with habit, his paranoia and extra. By the point “Late Checkout” arrives, it simply feels somewhat…late.
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“Can’t Conceal It” (feat. Jhené Aiko)
Discover I stated 11 songs, not 12. Once more, it’s not like “Can’t Conceal It” is a nasty track. Jhené got here by and did her factor, which is smart contemplating the beat seems like one thing pulled straight out of her Souled Out period. Nevertheless, it simply doesn’t fairly match the temper of the album. “Can’t Conceal It” serves as one of many solely gentle moments on Deep Ideas, however listening to Durk croon about kissing toenails is barely jarring after listeners spent 11 songs traversing the heavier themes on the album.
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“Wonderin’ Once more”
“Wonderin’ Once more” is clean as ice, and places a pleasant emphasis on Durk’s melodic aspect, nevertheless it’s simply too quick to have any lasting affect. In comparison with the opposite nice tracks on the album that come earlier than it and after it, “Wonderin’ Once more” is simply too temporary to pack a punch.
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“Untouchable”
“Untouchable” feels extra like an exit-lude to “Monitoring Me,” and Durk packs some critical warmth into its temporary observe. It’s simply that when held as much as the opposite wonderful songs on the album, this track’s temporary runtime retains “Untouchable” from actually withdrawing.
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“Soul Bleed”
Lil Durk sticks to his award-winning system on “Soul Bleed,” spitting emotional bars about his struggles over an electrical guitar and a few transferring piano keys. The quick track finally will get buried beneath the standard that comes after it, however longtime Durk supporters will doubtless join with “Soul Bleed” simply as they need to related songs of his up to now.
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“They Wish to Be You” (feat. Future)
Future and Lil Durk sound nice collectively, treating “They Need To Be You” nearly because the antithesis to “All My Life.” Collectively, Pluto and Durk rap about their adoring followers and the way younger individuals’s drive to be identical to them makes them insecure and uncomfortable. Whereas each rappers come by and do their factor, the track doesn’t fairly catch the way in which earlier collabs of theirs have, equivalent to “Final Title” and “Petty Too.” It left me wanting to love this track greater than I did.
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“Monitoring Me”
Lil Durk faucets again into his drill music roots with “Monitoring Me,” one of many solely braggadocious tracks on the album. Whereas “Monitoring Me” pivots from the emotional catharsis that fills many of the album, Durk affords up some severely venomous bars on right here the expense of his opps. “You realize that cash be totally different, they arrive to your constructing to kill you and the doorman/I used to be a Jeezy fan, however I used to be seein’ crimson, ain’t construct me a snowman,” Durk raps. For followers hungry for the outdated Durk, “Monitor Me” will scratch that itch after which some.
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“Shaking After I Pray”
“Shaking After I Pray” serves as the right palate cleanser for Deep Ideas. Anybody heading into the tape pondering radio-friendly bangers like “Stand by Me” await them shall be shortly reminded that Durk, in the beginning, is a road poet. “I do know I previous it, however I get mad once they say I don’t do s—t for the streets,” Durk spits. Whereas higher songs await, the ominous tone set by “Shaking After I Pray” doesn’t let up, serving to followers shortly regulate with a weak intro that units up the remainder of the album superbly.
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“Suppose You Glowed”
For listeners who could also be a bit of their emotions at this level within the album, “Suppose You Glowed” looks like a shot of adrenaline. The beat is rambunctious, the bass trunk-rattling, and as Durk glides seamlessly throughout it, he searches for motivation amidst all of the trauma that’s polluted his life. “I ain’t make it far to ever see what faculty is/Really feel like a Grammy, givin’ out them scholarships,” he raps. Elsewhere, he tries to show his trials and tribulations into a cheerful ending, one thing he’s persevering with to do whereas behind bars. “All the time see me smirkin’, however my coronary heart scarred/I’m one of many strongest on Allah Akbar/You suppose I’m a menace, I’m actually a rockstar,” he raps.
“Suppose You Glowed” serves as a turning level for Durk at this level in Deep Ideas, because it exhibits him making an attempt to reckon along with his previous and construct one thing higher from the ashes.
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“Pocket book (No Hook)”
“Pocket book (No Hook)” is extra like a journal entry for Durk, who pens some gut-wrenching bars a couple of betrayal he skilled whereas down on his luck. “Instructed you, I misplaced all of it/ You ain’t even come name/ Watchin’ story from a faux web page and I seen ’em shoppin’ on the mall/ Instructed him I want a handout, he ain’t reply to me in any respect,” Durk raps. “Pocket book (No Hook)” feels extra like a second of catharsis for Durk, who appears extra intent on reflecting on previous frustrations than crafting a structured track.
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“Flip Up a Notch”
This track will inspire anybody listening to “flip up a notch.” Durk skates over 808 Mafia’s crisp beat, as he admits he needed to go tougher throughout a giant stoop in his profession and the way he in the end turned it right into a Grammy victory final 12 months. “Flip Up a Notch” affords one other good break from Deep Ideas‘ gloominess, and can encourage followers to stand up and go get it.
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“Alhamdulilah”
“Alhamdulillah” exhibits how colourful and complicated a author Lil Durk actually his. Merging his Muslim religion with tales about his trauma, Durk speaks on his wrestle to give up popping drugs, having to pay for funeral companies with money as a result of he has no insurance coverage, and what it feels wish to attempt for greatness in opposition to all odds. It’s a robust observe that showcases Durk’s knack for excellent penmanship.
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“Opportunist”
Durk once more does his factor on “Opportunist,” as he each calls out the opps and continues to mourn the lack of his family members. “I don’t take again nothin’ once I say it, once I dissed him/ Although he lifeless, I learn our thread, trigger I miss him,” Durk croons. There are lots of bars on “Opportunist” that may doubtless be put below a microscope by religious followers, however at face worth, the track is a basic Durk observe.
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“Vanish Mode”
Completely balancing Lil Durk’s mix of uncooked emotion and braggadocious poetry, “Vanish Mode” places listeners in a chokehold and doesn’t let up. The beat is hypnotic and menacing, however Durk seems like he’s lastly having a great time as he raps about his automobiles, cash, and bountiful love pursuits.
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“Maintain On Sippin”
The second observe of Durk’s Deep Ideas finds the Chicago rapper penning some severely weak bars. Whereas the hook is distressingly catchy, Durk owns as much as his addictions in a harrowing means. He speaks on how his relationship with medicine almost ruined his precise relationships, and he owned as much as the truth that making an attempt to get clear in rehab was a terrifying ordeal. “She advised me if I preserve sippin’, ain’t no have to get married/ My first day havin’ withdrawals, couldn’t consider, it was scary,” he says. Lil Durk’s penmanship right here is top-notch, as he opens up a couple of matter many rappers don’t talk about.
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“Deep Despair”
Over a silky collage of gospel loops and hi-hats courtesy of Metro Boomin, Lil Durk closes out his album with a bang. In Deep Ideas‘ closing moments, Durk acknowledges the robust state of affairs he’s in and admits to everybody, together with himself, that he doesn’t know why he stays tied to gang life. “This s—t get ugly,” he calls out on the hook, “I don’t know why I like the streets.” It’s a robust finish to one in every of Durk’s most private albums in current reminiscence.
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“1000 Instances”
“1000 Instances” highlights Lil Durk and Lil Child’s seamless chemistry, proving why they’re probably the greatest rap duos within the sport. “100 Instances” not solely consists of some stellar songwriting from each rappers, however emphasizes every rapper’s signature kinds — Durk’s melodic supply and Child’s rapid-fire, assured circulation. Their back-and-forth dynamic feels easy as they lyrically replicate on struggles, success, the load of loyalty, and the way it feels realizing their darkness evokes greatness in others. Their pure synergy makes “1000 Instances” an simple banger.