It would have been nearly impossible to predict the success that Waka Flocka Flame would have had a year ago when he released his debut album Flockaveli.
Despite all the claims that he’s not a real MC, he’s uneducated and ultimately ruining hip-hop, Waka Flocka has somehow survived the naysayers and bad press to carve out a nice niche for himself and his crew in the constantly evolving landscape of rap music.
What may be even more surprising is that he’s single-handedly done what Lil’ Jon wishes he could; bring Crunk music back into hip-hop popularity, and also bring that dangerous, “gangsta” edge back to the hip-hop scene.
Waka Flocka thrives and flourishes in the “gangsta” aesthetic, where playing a song like “Hard in Da Paint” or “Karma” brings back of images of fights in 90s night clubs simply because “Shook Ones, Pt. 2” came on and you looked at someone else the wrong way.
His newest mixtape, Lebron Flocka James 3, is a celebration of all the things I just talked about.
It’s chock full of braggadocious rhymes about success, violent threats and everything else you’d expect from Waka Flocka lyrically.
The big difference between this offering of Lebron Flocka James than the previous two (and any other mixtape he’s put out) is that Waka Flocka no longer feels like he has to prove himself.
In an advertising video he released before the mixtape dropped, Waka Flocka claims that not just himself, but his entire Bricksquad crew has changed the sound of hip-hop, from his simple rhyme style to the 808 beats that in-house producer Lex Luger has made into a staple of the current hip-hop sound.
With this attitude, Waka Flocka decides to further bring along crewmates Slim Dunkin and Wooh Da Kid along for the ride, letting them take much of the exposure on tracks and featuring them on the mixtape cover (being the Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to his Lebron James).
Another person Waka Flocka brings along for his continued ride to the top is another in-house producer, Southside.
On The Track, however, this doesn’t bring any significant change to the dark, sinister gangsta rap Waka Flocka and Lex Luger have consistently banged out.
Standout tracks like “You the Type”, “Call Me Inky”, the remix to “Lightz On” (which boasts guest spots from Jadakiss and Styles P) and the inclusion of recently released single “Round of Applause” point to a promising high-energy second album Waka Flocka is supposed to release sometime next month.
While the rest of the mixtape isn’t exactly filler, it does seem like it is a place for Slim Dunkin and Wooh Da Kid to get some work in and improve.
Their solo tracks “I Do It” and “King of the Jungle” respectively point to promising careers in the same niche Waka Flocka has created for them.
Just as Waka Flocka will always be associated with Gucci Mane, Slim Dunkin and Wooh Da Kid will probably never outshine their leader.
Altogether, Lebron Flocka James 3 isn’t a masterpiece, or anything that would be considered a classic, but more so a victory lap for past success and the hopeful success that is to come when Waka Flocka releases Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family.
The Verdict: 75%