“You know I’m gon’ hop up on this beat and catch a body bag.”
That’s one of the plethora of aggressive bars on Ace Hood’s newest tape, which finds the Floridian fierce and focused on this fourth go-round of his Body Bag series.
Ace’s high-octane rhymes are supported by family; as he states on the opening “Beast of the South,” he’s not about to screw up when he has people depending on him. The result is impressive couplets that hearken to his inspiration; “This that Lil Wayne when he got out of prison/This is that shit make you switch your religion,” he snarls on the opener. Not that he’s restrained, though. He has the “Key to the Streets” and balls out with reckless abandon. “Married to the Game,” finds him soul-searching on a touching tribute to Shawty Lo, who he deems a “Bankhead legend.” And he brilliantly makes ScHoolboy Q’s “THat Part” his own, complete with the Kanye West coda. Each song is tied together by Hood’s impressive conviction and crisp flow. When he feels like it, he’s even capable of some impressive rapid-fire lyricism, such as on “Seven Million,” when he machine-gun spits, “Loaded I’m ready bring out the confetti I might need a minute to spaz, yeah/nothin’ in common with none of these niggas I just gotta mention the facts, yeah.” These moments add muscle to a rapper known more for jingles and clubs hits than beastly bars.
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By no means does the production take a backseat. If not for his stellar lyricism, the infectious tunes would threaten to overshadow the rhymes. The cool woodwinds make “Big Amount” a breezy affair. Sparse piano keys are coupled with slow drums to allow Ace to take center stage for the inspirational “Key to the Streets.” By contrast, plucky, upbeat keys guide Hood’s flow on the brief but memorable “My Shit.” The production is almost exclusively strong, save the ominous “Sensei,” which fails to be anything more than a standard-fare trap beat.
Indeed, “Sensei,” marks one of three distinct issues with Body Bag 4 — the very beginning, smack dab in the middle and the very end. The end of the opener, “Beast of the South,” trails off unremarkably. Five tracks later, “Sensei” and “My Girlfriend,” which unremarkably details what Ace has done with your girlfriend, are a significant speed bump. The mixtape’s finale, “X,” fades out with Ace musing over an ex-girlfriend. It’s a strange way to end such an energetic mixtape. He would have fared better finishing one track earlier with his solid rhymes over Young M.A’s “Ooouuu.”
These flaws, while hampering, are forgivable. Ace Hood rapped on “X” that he hopes this tape will hold us over until his next project. It certainly will. Body Bag 4 is a collection of goodies by an artist dedicated to his craft.
