Album Review: Drink More Water 6 [Mixtape] by iLoveMakonnen

When Drake discovered, then hired, L.A.-based MC and singer iLoveMakonnen, it was like he brought forth an exaggerated version of himself. On Drink More Water 6, a mixtape distributed by a major label, this has never been more evident, as heartache tunes over indie production bump next to swaggering singalongs like "Big Gucci" and "Solo" (the latter track laying out Makonnen's release schedule for 2016 within its lyrics). It's the kind of stuff that made Drake a superstar, and yet "Sellin'" is a reminder that this MC came up the ski-mask way, even when the song sounds like an endearing and clumsy G-Unit track and Biz Markie just joined the crew.

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Fame on the Internet, particularly at the nexus where music and memes are consumed, accelerates in dog years. It’s been fewer than two calendar years since "Tuesday," but the once-ubiquitous summer 2014 jam feels positively ancient in a world full of Lil Yachtys, Lil Uzi Verts, and Kodak Blacks. Particularly troubling is the shuffling pace of iLoveMakonnen’s output since then—following up his solid eponymous debut EP with a mixtape, Drink More Water 5, that, while slight, was just enough to float interested parties.

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ILoveMakonnen's by far the oddest musician to emerge from Atlanta's trap scene in recent years; his rapping and singing abilities are pretty shoddy, and his tracks often resemble a mediocre karaoke rendition of a more skilled musician's song. But there's also something deeply infectious about his style, which features a curious combo of earnestness, carelessness and humour in a way that can only be compared (in the very best of ways) to Lil B. Unfortunately, Drink More Water 6 — the latest iteration of a mixtape series started in 2012 — shows little evolution in Makonnen's style, and hints that he may have exhausted the esoteric sound that he pioneered.

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ILoveMakonnen's by far the oddest musician to emerge from Atlanta's trap scene in recent years; his rapping and singing abilities are pretty shoddy, and his tracks often resemble a mediocre karaoke rendition of a more skilled musician's song. But there's also something deeply infectious about his style, which features a curious combo of earnestness, carelessness and humour in a way that can only be compared (in the very best of ways) to Lil B. Unfortunately, Drink More Water 6 — the latest iteration of a mixtape series started in 2012 — shows little evolution in Makonnen's style, and hints that he may have exhausted the esoteric sound that he pioneered.

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There is nothing quite as polarizing for a rapper’s career than blowing up overnight off of one song. On one hand, it can give an artist’s career substantial exposure but on the other hand it can place them in a box that is increasingly hard to break out from. We’ve seen the latter happen a million times throughout hip-hop history, ever since the days of Vanilla Ice to the disappearance of MIMS.

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