Meek Mill has been a dream chaser ever since he was a teenager freestyling on his native Philadelphia street corners. After years of dedicated hustling and grinding, Meek reached a widespread level of acclaim for his Dreamchasers mixtapes and become MMG’s top young talent. With a massive amount of hype surrounding his music, his 2012 debut studio album Dreams and Nightmares didn’t quite meet expectations. While providing us with the epic title track intro which is recognized as a classic modern hip-hop moment, it was evident that Meek needed a little more seasoning before he could earn universal praise (releasing a week after good kid, m.A.A.D. city certainly didn’t help his cause). Three years later after another stint in a prison and a new tabloid-worthy relationship with Nicki Minaj, Meek’s second official LP Dreams Worth More Than Money has arrived and there is a noticeable amount of growth from the Philly emcee on the project. While this album doesn’t go without a few missteps, Dreams Worth More Than Money is Meek’s most focused album to date due to his newfound ability of harnessing his bellowing energy and authentically channeling it over majestic production.
As we’ve come to expect from him, Meek sets things off in proper fashion with another striking, haunting intro “Lord Knows” (we see you Tory Lanez) in which the Philly spitter embraces his cockiness with a newfound sense of perspective, resulting in a Berks St./North Philly product meeting Mozart at the opera on wax. It is these types of monumental moments that allow Meek to hold our attention and after he brings Swizz Beatz out of the woodwork on the piano laden “Classic”, we receive another gem in “Jump Out The Face”. Meek’s flow is well tailored for the resounding Metro Boomin/Southside production and, on a slight side note, we are starting to believe that Future can do no wrong. But while the Meek/Metro collaborations prove to be successful (Meek’s energy warrants a Usain Bolt of rap analogy on first single “Check”), there are instances where Meek suffers from a lack of originality. “All Eyes On Me” is catchy but comes across as a blatant radio attempt, Meek can’t quite match Drake’s swagger on the dynamically intriguing single “R.I.C.O.”, and the descriptive lyricism of life in jail can’t excuse the way-too-obviously 2Pac inspired “Ambitionz”. While there is a bonafide sense of hunger and passion throughout DWMTM, it is unfortunate that Meek somewhat suffers from a lack of conceptual creativity.
Meek Mill has always been a natural when it comes to rapping about the streets and relaying his ‘rags to riches’ story with unwavering ambition. But surprisingly, the presence of Nicki Minaj in Meek’s life has allowed him to effectively broaden his horizons musically. The finest display of this subject matter resides on “Pullin Up”, the latest example of The Weeknd shining on tracks with high profile rappers (Wiz Khalifa, French Montana, Rick Ross, etc). With a fitting intro from the Toronto crooner, Meek goes into great detail on how his relationship with Nicki blossomed over the years, and essentially puts her ex on blast. The more PG-version of the story is heard on their genuine collaboration “Bad For You”, an accessible yet not generic effort that is deserving of rising on the charts. While it may be too soon to proclaim Meek and Nicki as hip-hop’s new ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, their romance has added fresh elements to Meek’s subject matter which can be unvarying otherwise.
When evaluated as a full body of work, Dreams Worth More Than Money is a compelling collection despite its imperfections. Meek’s ‘yelling rap’ had previously taken away from the quality of his music, but his intensity this time around is thankfully kept in check. And while the ‘corner boy turned top dog’ mentality is still the fuel that empowers Meek Mill’s artistry, a few more years of experience have brought about a higher level of substance for the MMG rapper. Tracks such as “The Trillest” and Diddy-featured closer “Cold Hearted” are prime illustrations of introspectiveness that add appealing layers to Meek’s highly anticipated effort. So while there is still room to grow for the Philly emcee, Meek’s ambition is successfully conveyed over production which is professionally polished by street aesthetics, and that makes Dreams Worth More Than Money worthy of the confidence it embodies.
Repeatable: “Lord Knows”, “Jump Out The Face”
Skippable: “Stand Up”