Dreamville's D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape review

By Leo Hewitt-Provost

03/31/2022

Not ashamed to say it, but it took me a while to fully appreciate The Off Season from J. Cole, there was no doubt in the back of my mind that every feature was out of this world, but just like many, I was expecting more retrospective tracks. Sonically KOD was unlike anything we’d ever known, so it was only right to be sceptical for its next release three years later.

The facts remain, The Off Season was a solid album. So, upon hearing the news that a Dreamville and DJ Drama mixtape was coming out, I was buzzing and couldn’t wait to write my first ever mixtape review.

For well over a decade, Dreamville and TDE have been going toe to toe, whether Cole and Kendrick see it differently, hip-hop fans have always been quick to compare music releases between the two labels, speculate on potential collaborations between different members, and like many are right now, taking sides.

Today, it is clear that Dreamville have taken the edge, J. Cole, EARTHGANG and JID have been consistently dropping incredible music, and that’s without mentioning Bas, Lute, Ari Lennox, Cozz and Omen. The 15 songs mixtape with DJ Drama alongside 2 Chainz, A$AP Ferg, Young Nudy and many more is an enormous gift for the industry. Something no one asked for but that everybody needed.

We have our first Chris Rock and Will Smith bar, and it comes from DJ Drama himself on Starting Five “Keep playing on Dreamville’s name, don’t get Chris Rocked out your socks, anything can and Will happen then watch me walk back to my seat, keep out your name out your f****** mouth”.

Both Blackberry Sap and Coming Down from Ari Lennox are incredible, I have always loved her voice and the fact that she is always honest in her lyrics, many have tried to master the element of immaculate singing mixed with displaying honest emotions, but it simply is only reserved to a select few, Ari has never missed.

J. Cole appears on three songs: Stick, Freedom of Speech and Heaven’s EP, and as DJ Drama states on Freedom of Speech, this is only a mixtape, so imagine just how ambitious Cole is and how much more powerful he’ll be for his upcoming release. Heaven’s EP dropped months ago and sampled Drake’s Pipe Down from CLB, I was wondering if it ever was releasing on Spotify, and I got my wish today. The song is simply stunning, and Cole’s storytelling is out of this world.

Both instrumentals used for 2 Chainz’s two appearances are as grimy as they get, JID, 2 Chainz and Young Nudy on the same track make for an exclusive premiere, although the latter doesn’t have a verse on Everybody Ain’t S*** it’s nice to see his contribution to the D-Day mixtape.

Olu and WowGr8 stole the show for me, their presence on the three tracks they appear on is perceived ever so well, both rappers have had one of the best recent runs in the industry together, after releasing Mirrorland and Spilligion respectively in 2019 and 2020, GHETTO GODS- their latest project- is living proof that EARTHGANG is here to stay.

Omen has one of the best verses on the mixtape, accompanied by one of the finest instrumental on here, the switch of beats between Lute and Cozz to Omen is unexpected but works, on Ballin in Newport, Omen also varies between rapping and singing in the three-minute runtime, and he does it beautifully.

Big Trouble Freestyle samples one of the hardest diss track in history with Who Shot Ya by Biggie, “Shout out Zendaya for saying she loved the song, that’s all I’m gonna say about it now please just leave it alone” is a nod that had me jump out of my seat, one of my favourite Cozz songs always had me wonder what Zendaya thought about it, so I can finally rest. I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one wondering, considering Zendaya- the song- is four-year-old. Cozz’s pen has always been outstanding since he released Effected in 2018 and his contribution to Dreamville for Revenge of the Dreamers.

With the presence of A$AP Ferg, Reason, Sheck Wes, Kenny Mason and G Perico too, the mixtape makes for an enjoyable listen, some songs aren’t as well mixed as others, but that’s the beauty of mixtapes, everyone has different sounds they adhere too. Artists at the same time  have more liberty and more fun that they would normally have when they release a studio album.