Album Review: Mudboy by Sheck Wes

Pop and electronic producer Zedd sent rap Twitter into a frenzy after he assessed Sheck Wes' breakout hit, 'Mo Bamba', with an air of condescension still too common for those outside the ever-growing breadth of the hip-hop zeitgeist. Listing a lack of "melody, chords, structure, [and] lyrics" as to why the song didn't meet his standards, he entirely missed the point of not just one single, but a genre at large that subverts popular music by synthesizing the very elements that make it tick. 'Mo Bamba' is the epitome of that forward-thinking approach as its deceptively simple structure enlists all of the attributes from Zedd's checklist to make a sound whose impact is impossible to quantify.

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After his 2017 song "Mo Bamba" went viral this year, eyes were on New York rapper Sheck Wes to see if he would progress. The 20-year-old is signed to Good Music and Cactus Jack Records, the labels of Kanye West and Travis Scott respectively, and has just released his debut album Mudboy.   It is a good first showing, especially given the conception of many vis-à-vis the musical talents of one hit wonders. But it does have the feel of a first album, in that Sheck seems to still be looking for his style and sound. Whether it's the lyrical ….

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Sheck Wes the hottest in the country. I wouldn't usually endorse the phrase 'mumble rap,' but Sheck Wes deserves it. Between grumbling bass and off-kilter synths, he barks and mutters insults, barely rising above a feint, droning whisper. That is, until he stumbles over his limited bars and begins 'shitting' and 'bitching' his way back into a new rhyme.

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