It goes without saying that a lot of people don’t like Troy Ave, and for the most part they have a lot of good reasons. First things first he’s indeed average, meaning he’s not an elite MC with any particular substance to his music, yet at the same time he’s hardly trash and he’s not a mumble rapper… so by all accounts he’s actually seemingly better than most. Furthermore as the Irving Plaza tragedy continues to unfold it seems clear that Troy wasn’t in the wrong, yet instead it was everybody’s favorite podcaster who at the moment looks like he clearly played himself.
Then in spite of everything you have the music… well actually I’m lying… first you have the Breakfast Club interview with the bullet proof vest that, in spite of looking ridiculous, actually was rather eye opening and thought provoking if you listened to it with an open mind. In fairness however to Troy’s critics, to compare himself to the legendary and iconic Tupac Shakur was both inaccurate and misguided, and Charlemagne rightfully told him ‘you fool for that one’. Nonetheless you can’t tell Troy nothin! Lmao… so he took it and ran with it for promotion, and thus you have NuPac… standing for… well… I’m sure it doesn’t need an explanation…
The NuPac mixtape is critiqued track by track below, ultimately to mixed results despite widespread condemnation.
NuPac (intro)
“I didn’t say I’m the new Pac… I said the feeling is like… on some 2pac shit…” The intro is an excerpt from the infamous Breakfast Club interview… as well as Troy’s own rendition of the classic Makaveli intro from the Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theory… truth be told this is both funny and on point and the right way to set it off
Demonstrate God Is Great
“God is great and the people straight, if you ain’t seen a real ***** let me demonstrate” This record has also been titled On My Birthday on soundcloud, and… it’s pretty good! Not bad at all… not crazy either but not mad at this as there’s nothing trash about it.
I Ain’t Mad Atcha
“Cause you a pussy and ***** was fucking your bitch, she left and took the baby cause you ain’t have them chips, Lito put you on and you took the bitch back, now when you fall off I guarantee she fall back, sucka, you remind of that Hovain clown, his baby moms fucked a ***** that work in Food Town, beat her up in the middle of sleep, all cause she got a text from Produce Pete, he said how this dick look I fuck you better than your man, 400 pounds on her neck choke slam, damn…” Over a chopped up sample of 2pac’s classic of the same title… this isn’t even remotely as good or memorable… yet even still I applaud the effort, even tho I’m probably being generous.
Fight 4 My Life Word Word
“Fighting for my life and now I’m fighting for my freedom… word, word…” now put the message aside and this is trash for real… SKIP!!!
Level 2 Orientation
“They’ll bait you with hateful slurs, lies, jealous rhetoric, and slander…” A skit in reference to his haters that nobody needs to hear… SKIP!
Press Spray
“You a drug addict and a bitch beater, rap podcast and a dick eater…” Troy Ave gettin at Joe Budden 😂😂😂 he’s actually spittin and I’m here for it!!! [Meanwhile Joe acts like he’s too big to respond to Troy, thus pretty much contradicting his entire position against Drake, yet that’s Joe for you tho, never consistent]
Truth Be Told PSA
“If you was right there why you didn’t help me pick up Bang body?…. He had that dumb ass look hanging off his fat fucking slob face… just pissing me off… I’m sitting in jail and he’s lying to me…it’s all on the video” Over a continuous sample of 2pac’s voice from the classic record Bomb First (My Second Reply) off the Makaveli album “***** and bitches, power and money, riders and punks” Troy Ave goes IN on his former BSB crew in this 30+ minute intermission, and to be honest it’s a good listen that for the most part seems justified… hate or love Troy Ave but his crew is literally nothing without him (Hovain is pretty much the definition of a Twitter A&R and it’s pathetic), and by all accounts it seems like they were nothing short of disloyal to the source who made them “relevant”. Mind you I’m not surprised by this at all.
Jail House I’m Home
“Recording to you live from the jail house, when ***** thought I wouldn’t bail out… I’m home, I’m home…” Best record on the tape, no lie this is 🔥🔥🔥complete record that’s definitely album worthy, easily one of the best Troy records to date.
Never Switch
“Just because we are related that don’t make you fam” facts and this is decent nothing more nothing less
How It Go
“Fake ass ***** love to tell me that they real, I be like all these ***** fishy where your gills” 😞😞😞 nah… I’m good on this… SKIP!
Praise Pays ft Jamila Irish
“God is great and my paper straight, the real relate why the fake gon hate” A church record from Troy I suppose… nice idea but nah... another SKIP!
Tonight
“Try to put a scandal on the kid like I’m Cosby, bitch I’m the man call me mandingo papi” 😩😩😩 right now he’s ruining good production with too many terrible bars, where I almost fux with the movement but Troy needs to step his bars up, that simple.
Don’t 4 Get Who You Are
“Shareef always been a sucka, in 10th grade he wifed a hoe, and he loved her, got backslapped by a dude she was fucking, in front of McDonalds and everybody, he did nothing” Troy in storytelling mode and this one kinda nice, he tells 3 different stories in 3 different verses and I’m almost impressed… tough record 💪
Ultimately the NuPac tape is as inconsistent as Troy Ave himself, who is neither fire nor trash and ultimately just needs to take more time with his music. The 2pac angle actually works on this however, highlighted by all the Makaveli:Don Killuminati references that actually tells me Troy’s a legitimate student of the game. Nonetheless the bars too often are lackluster which gives ammunition to his critics, yet even they have to admit some of these records are actually on point. The highlights for me are the Joe Budden diss, the Irving Plaza story in the PSA, Jail House I’m Home, and the storytelling outro, and at the moment that’s almost enough to make me a fan. All the same I’m listening regardless, and wouldn’t mind if the next studio album put all his critics to shame.