Words by Rohit Loomba (@poombster)
Lil Reese, recently released, 300 Degrezz, the follow-up to his 2015 mixtape, Supa Savage 2. While Supa Savage 2 was received with great welcome, even garnering listens from those previously not familiar with the Chief Keef associate, 300 Degrezz is unlikely to reproduce this.
The 11-track effort doesn’t stray from the newer Chicago sound Reese has helped develop. Deep, rolling bass lines are accentuated by the familiar drill drum patterns, providing Reese with an aggressive soundscape on which to pain his gritty Chicago narratives. Production efforts are provided by Chicago producers such as Dp12hunna, JustSpvnik, Young Chop, and Chief Keef. Reese also taps the assistance of producers from outside the Chi such as Drumma Boy who helps Reese open the album up on “Sum New”. The production may not be groundbreaking but is consistent throughout and remains true to Reese’s Chi-town roots. Production stand-outs include “Sum New”, “Feed the Fam”, and “Come Around”.
The energy of the production, however, is often unmatched by Reese’s delivery. While the subject matter of most of this mixtape finds inspiration in the Windy City’s street life, Reese is unable to fully capture the energy of this vocally. Reese’s delivery on both Supa Savage offerings was better able to match the intensity of the drill-inspired production. That being said, however, Reese does offer glimpses of his Supa Savage delivery at points on 300 Degrezz.
Reese handles most the mixtape on his own, employing on the help of a few features. Jadakiss appears on the KidWond3r-produced “Some Out Nun” while Rick Ross provides a verse to “Seen or Saw”. The features do not steal from Reese’s efforts and demonstrate the attention the young emcee has received from veteran rappers.
Fans of Reese will enjoy this new mixtape although it is unlikely that it will do much to excite those who aren’t already fans. Drawing most of its strength from its production, 300 Degrezz doesn’t fully demonstrate Reese’s generally more energetic delivery. As Reese works towards his first major-label release, he’ll have to recapture more of Supa Savage Reese.
-Rohit Loomba
2.5 stars (out of 4)