Boosie Badazz, a.k.a. Lil Boosie a.k.a. the hardest working rapper alive has dropped a project every month this year. Bleek Mode (Thug in Peace Lil Bleek) comes on the heels of April’s C-Murder collab, Penitentiary Chances and is an homage to Darryl “Lil Bleek” Milton. Milton was murdered in 2010 while Boosie himself was facing death or life in prison, holed up in Angola — the largest and most notorious maximum security prison in the United States. In his own words: “Bleek was my main man and we had a hell of a life together.” Since his release in 2014, Boosie has fought (and beat) cancer and continues to live with diabetes. Seemingly fueled by these hurdles, the Baton Rouge legend has yet to hit a creative ceiling. Standouts from his previous releases, “Cancer,” “Wanna Be Heard,” and “Regret It,” showcase just how staggeringly consistent his output has been and Bleek Mode… only adds to his impressive résumé.
There’s an undeniable poeticism to Badazz’s storytelling — he’s the “music out in Ferguson,” he’s the “ghetto sunset.” The touching “Intro” is a nostalgic reflection on his friendship with Lil Bleek while the penultimate track, “Not My Nigga,” is a tense recollection of the exact moment he found out about Bleek’s passing. From the hard but sweet “Jolly Rancher days” all the way through his imprisonment and subsequent health issues, there is nary a topic he shies away from — including his own failures as a father. The stunning centerpiece, “Freedom,” plays like a ghetto hymn, a call to the impoverished to remain resolute and sees Boosie’s voice quivering frequently under the assumed strain of decades of hardship. “I’d rather touch the world’s heart than be a lyrical genius,” Boosie declares, although he usually has his feet planted firmly in both forms of lyricism.
Left-turns such as the Auto-Tune drenched “What U Wanna Do” or the more generic aesthetic of “Shout out to Your Page,” (featuring Og-Dre and Tony Michael, respectively) provide some manufactured versatility but are ultimately disposable. Thankfully, it’s always back to business with Boosie — “What U Wanna Do” is followed by the ode to his grandma, “Destined to Blow,” and “Shout Out to Your Page” leads into a detailing of the “Long Road” Boosie’s taken to get here. Prison, cancer, “diabetes needle marks” all over his body — at this point, Lil Boosie is a superhero in the truest sense of the title. Where his contemporaries channel escapism, Badazz unflinchingly stares down the barrel. He knows not to “glorify the street shit” so he chooses to unravels his surroundings instead — until every brick he’s pushed has a purpose and every hit he’s witnessed is processed on wax. From the prosecutor’s false smile to the prison guard’s more obvious contempt, Boosie sees through everyone around him and right into their cold hearts. He’s been coming out his house for 14 years with his vest on.
The criticisms are straightforward: it’s an overlong affair and Boosie’s beat choice hasn’t evolved in any significant way. The mixing on these self-released projects also fluctuates with whiplash inducing frequency. Had there been any sense of quality control (no need for the Og-Dre and Tony Michael cuts; “Blue Money” is poorly mixed; “Army” is redundant after “Kill the Beef”) this could’ve been in the running for best project of the year. Regardless, it’s difficult not to be swept away by Boosie’s conviction. His pure and unfiltered retelling of “war stories never told” is worth our unmitigated attention.
