There are plenty of ways that NBA players may opt to spend their off-seasons. For Detroit Pistons All-Star center Andre Drummond (professionally known as Drummxnd), he’s chosen to pursue a passion of creating music, releasing his debut EP, Fyi.
As a 2× NBA rebounding leader, Drummxnd is no stranger to putting in work. But his first foray into a Hip Hop project is dripping with mediocrity, complete with fitting, run-of-the-mill production for these times, as well as a glaring omission of substance.
Strictly referring to anyone as an athlete-turned-rapper can sometimes ignore the fact that they conceivably made music for years, and newfound fame afforded them the opportunity to do it at a scale they never imagined.
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However, this eight-song project doesn’t feel like something he’s been carefully brewing or ever had the aim to compete in an already crowded arena full of rap pros. Tired themes of real-life balling and Auto-Tuned-laden bars rarely rise about the fact that he’s wealthy — though he does avoid talking about basketball for the most part. It’s very one-dimensional, as the lousy club banger “Lit” fully outlines. His trusted second-string artists in Tailz and Drew Parks also do little to move the rock up the court.
However, for your info, there are glimmers of depth in a few spots. The reflective ”Nu Vibe” is the only song where he appears to break character and touch on the fact that he overcame adversity and wasn’t always so blessed in his life. As well, themes of longing for love — most notably the Mila J-featured “Change” — add sprinkles of personality to an otherwise basic tracklist.
There is always room for improvement, and nobody knows that better than Drummxnd, who went from one of the worst free throw shooters in the game to an average one, to a fairly unremarkable one. Now, only time will tell if this EP is just a fad or if he really has the intent to chase down Dame Lillard.
