Perhaps Atlanta, GA’s most decorated game spitter, Reverend Jeezy is back for his seventh studio album with a lot to prove - considering 2016 is not the same as 2006 in regards to the music industry - and today both street rappers and swag rappers alike have struggled to move units or maintain any longevity. Of course Jeezy himself is Platinum status going way back to Thug Motivation 101 - yet that’s also the case for a handful of other MCs cut from the same fabric - who have since transitioned from major labels to independents - and in doing so have seen their commercial appeal fall to relative obscurity. Many will point to the access of streaming as to why sales are down and music has been considered more disposable, yet in a world where J Cole can go ‘Double Platinum without features,’ it’s clear that a certain type of rap still sells - and therefore it’s perhaps the trap that is no longer in high demand.
Yet then there’s Jeezy, who somehow sold over 100,000 first week copies of Church In These Streets in 2015 - in comparison The Game’s 1992 sold 25,000, Meek Mill’s DC4 sold 45,000, & Rick Ross’s Black Market topped out at 54,000 - and somehow a year later the CTE CEO has done it again. Trap or Die 3 has been reported to have sold 73,000 copies in it’s first week this past October, two months after the ‘hottest’ rapper from ATL only sold 18,000 (Young Thug’s Jeffrey), all but solidifying his spot as the voice of the hustlers and the undisputed Street King of Atlanta.
Trap or Die 3 is critiqued track by track below
In The Air
“Then I picked that Bentley up 'cause frankly I ain't give a fuck, Snow pursue that rapping shit, your name is hot, you blowing up, ***** Puff hit me up, a young ***** signed to Bad Boy, met the judge and had a bag back then, call me the bag boy, they was in them Breitlings but your boy was in that Rollie, who else gon' talk them chickens like he working at Chipotle”... produced by Shawty Redd imho this instrumental and overall track needed more… even in the whip it’s only lukewarm fire and it doesn’t really set the tone in making you want to listen to more.
G-Wagon
"Uh, I said I hopped up out that g-wagon, Glock got my Balmain jeans sagging, Uh, and my wrist look like a disco, Uh, translation I'm the shit ho, Uh, half a ticket at your mama house, Uh, in all 20's in your mama couch, Uh, we drop them bitches in the microwave, Uh, I made a million with that microwave” Now Shawty Redd is heating up and this is more of what I was expecting in the intro… if you love Jeezy (and only if you love Jeezy) then you’ll probably love this record… if you’re otherwise on the fence however, then this record unfortunately won’t win you over.
It Is What It Is
"Confident, I'm just flowing, I'm like a psychic, *****, I be knowing” Produced by D-Rich (who flexes all over this album) this one is definitely good for the whip and anywhere else at max volume…though in regards to the lyrics I’m not sure if they’re deserving of any formal review... with lyrics like “The only real trapper with them platinum plaques, flip a CD like a brick, bitch, I'm an acrobat, and I talk so much shit I got shit-a-itis, bitch, I wrote so many hits I got hit-a-itis”
Where It At ft Yo Gotti
“Break them 36s down into 18s, traffic in a black van like the A-Team, got 6 gold ropes on, I'm Mr. T, can't talk about the trap and not mention me” nothing out of the ordinary from Jeezy & Gotti over fire production from Ke’noe & PD… can’t be mad at this one at all…
All There ft Bankroll Fresh
“Dope boy, '95 Air Max on, came from up the road boy you know we tax homes, you want a whole thing hit me on the black phone, hood ***** Hot Cheetos what I snack on” 🔥🔥🔥 bars from Bankroll Fresh (Rest in Peace 🙏)… as those 4 bars made this track alone… the rest is regular
Going Crazy ft French Montana
“You claim that you the realest when your watch fugazi, show me whose your jeweler man, that boy crazy, she tried to charge me for the box, man this shawty crazy, I ain't tryna blow your spot up but this bitch is crazy, all I wanted was a mil and a new Mercedes, now I'm jumping on these ***** like the new McGrady, White House, black Rollie, in South Bronx they know me, you can't talk, gotta show me” Montana! this is a must spin for all Montana fans bc he flamed this, and the production from D. Rich is cool - even though overall it’s not as fire as Jeezy’s most memorable track of a similar title from his debut album
Bout That ft Lil Wayne
“Oh god I want it all, night flight, on the wall like flies, and I ball like Mike, you on the side like Spike, goddamn, red handkerchief, all bout this bangin' shit, we breakin' down cocaine and shit, you better not be explainin' shit” decent bars from Weezy and more solid production from D. Rich.. this is one of the most complete records on the album and probably should have been the first single… that hook has radio play written all over it.
So What
“Top be candy apple red but them seats be Peter Pan, call me ‘Jizzle Iron Chef’, can chef it up with either hand, yeah I got the answers, Walt Disney of this trap shit, to keep it 100, the Isaac Newton of this trap shit” Those references are 🔥🔥🔥 and I can dig it… but too often Jeezy leaves a lot to be desired in terms of flow and delivery… either way this one is cool but nothin crazy
Let Em Know
“And I don't fuck around with too many rap *****, reason bein' I don't fuck around with cap *****, see the problem is there way too many plug *****, which in turn means there ain't enough drug dealers, this for my ***** in the trenches with the four way, still sleepin with the toolie by the doorway, they like ‘where you been Young? shit was bad for a minute, all them clown ***** winnin, shit was sad for a minute but… I'ma make these ***** get on they shit dog” Put out as the first single this probably should have been the intro as was originally planned, yet using his own words Jeezy thought it was ‘too musical’??? to be the intro thus here we are all the way at track 9… all the same Jeezy explained this record over on Genius… and based on quote below it’s pretty clear this is a shot at Young Thug… and mark me down as someone who is all the way for it…
Recipe
“Show you how to sway that rice, I got that recipe, who you think they got it from? I got that recipe, hustlin 101, I got that recipe, the one and only Young, I got that recipe…” Produced by Mike Will Made It and 30 Roc this is a standard album cut and nothing more…
Goldmine
“Make that chopper Milly Rock back on this gangster shit, whoever don't like it, they can suck a gangster dick, If she a real bitch then she gon' keep it lowkey, I don't even got to knock, I got a door key, uh, any given night we in a Aroma ho, bout to drink myself into a coma ho, don't worry about me cause I got a driver, and if he drive us in the river then I got divers” lmaooooo
U Kno It
“New whip alert, new whip alert, drop head Wraith, feelings gon' be hurt, served that raw shit and I ain't talking sushi, bad bitch, treat her like a groupie, Aventador, Batman in the parking lot, 400 Degreez, bitch the block is hot” standard album cut nothing less nothing more.
Like That
“I left the hood like ***** I'll be right back, then I blew up, they ain't like that, see about your money bitch, I like that, twerk and look back at it, bitch it's like that” standard album cut nothing less nothing more.
Sexe ft Plies
“I told her, I swear to God she make a ***** hate a rubber, If you got hair on that pussy I'll shampoo it for you, hashtag, hashtag, #CleanPussyMatters, get naked right now and you ain't gon' smell nada” Sweet Pwussy Satday!!!… Plies on the record for better and for worse…
Pretty Diamonds ft Chris Brown
“She the type to say that she ain't fuckin' on the first night, I'm the type of ***** have her naked at the first light” the only R&B type cut on the album, and when you combine Jeezy & Breezy you can’t go wrong…
Never Settle
“I want it all, champagne like Niagra Falls, and a big boy grill, portraits of Pac on the walls, a two door that go vrmm every time you hit the pedal, got two words for ya, never settle, I'ma leave the bars to Kendrick and Cole I speak that real life, I-75 with them O's know what that feel like” Jeezy apparently saved his best for last, as this one plays off Warren G’s ‘I Want it All’ record (classic) and Jeezy actually does it justice... this one is legit 🔥🔥🔥 and I strongly recommend playing this in the whip at maximum volume.
The only way to properly critique Trap or Die 3 is simple… is it good enough to play in the whip at ignorant levels of volume??? Yes??? Then enjoy...