Belly - Mumble Rap Album Review
If rap fans aren’t aware who Belly is yet, they should dive into his latest project as soon as possible. He co-wrote six songs on The Weeknd’s The Beauty Behind the Madness album, has worked with Travis Scott and French Montana to name a few and in 2015 signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. The Ottawa based rapper continuously makes a name for himself with having dropped three albums prior and just recently released 11 new tracks as a part of his new album entitled Mumble Rap which is irony in itself. Belly has surrounded himself with some of the best talents in music and has had two singles gain nearly a combined 50 million views on YouTube.
Mumble rap is a somewhat controversial term in the rap and hip hop world nowadays and the criticism of a high number of emcees including Future, Young Thug, Fetty Wap and Lil Uzi Vert where it just sounds like they’re rapping random words over bumping beats. But on the album, Belly is doing everything but mumble rapping. He got renowned producer Boi-1da to hop on and produce Mumble Rap and the combination of the two worked out for the better. It begs to ask the question if it’s Boi-1da’s Canadian roots, but the instrumentals sound like they could be included on a Drake album. Not that it’s a problem seeing as Belly appears to get better as a lyricist every time he drops a new track. Belly said that he was in a dark place when he released Inzombia in 2016 and wanted things to be different for Mumble Rap. He’s able to deliver an attitude that he’s been through a lot but managed to get over his challenges and has become a stronger person afterwards.
The first track from the album is “Immigration To the Trap” where he pays homage to his journey as a Palestinian immigrant and growing up in Canada. Belly takes the time to realize where he’s been throughout life and how far he’s come in this album, making it very intimate and relatable but at the same time every bit gritty and vibrant.
In another effort to stray away from his previous work, Belly only put one feature on Mumble Rap as Pusha-T came in with a verse on “Alcantara” on another fantastically produced track from Boi-1da with smooth instrumentals that the Virginia rapper has done nothing but excel on throughout his career.
Fans of Belly should be thankful that on this project he takes listeners into a certain point of view that not many people know about. The effort that was put into Mumble Rap was commendable and showed his versatility that even if he doesn’t have a popular new track, he’s still capable of making very solid music.
Another feature or two would’ve made this album nearly perfect, but listeners and fans must respect the artistic process. Belly did not disappoint with Mumble Rap and is most likely going to become a household name if he continues with this kind of work.
Rating: 8/10
Kj Meade is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email kalmeade@gmail.com.
