Week 3 Hillbilly Release

One Thing at a Time – (ALBUM)

In early 2021, Morgan Wallen looked to be next up in Country. The artist had just released Dangerous: The Double Album, which rose to #1 on the Billboard top 200 in one week. The project contains multiple tracks that Wallen released as singles years before, such as “Cover Me Up,” “This Bar,” and “More Than My Hometown.” Wallen also included new songs in the double album that haven’t aged poorly to this day, like “Sand In My Boots” and “Wasted On You.”

A month later, news about Morgan Wallen took over the music world again. This time, it wasn’t in his favor. 

Wallen had a rambunctious night at a Nashville bar one Sunday night, and when he returned home with his friends, they yelled across his property at each other. The commotion awoke the neighbors, and they began to record him. The footage of Wallen showed him saying a racial slur. He lost endorsement deals, record labels, and qualification for 2021 country music award shows. He publicly apologized and started on his road to recovery. 

Last Friday, Morgan Wallen released his first album since Dangerous – bearing an entirely different message. In One Thing At A Time, Morgan shows how he’s struggled with alcohol usage, relationships, and commitment to faith. He makes listeners aware that he understands these internal flaws and is doing his best to conquer them.

More importantly, he recognizes that if it weren’t for the ones close to him, Wallen wouldn’t have been able to focus on maturing and changing his life for the better. The singer dedicates songs to his mother, son, and God, thanking them for being patient with him. It’s noteworthy that Wallen stands in front of his late grandmother’s house in the album’s cover art. 

Although the deeper meaning behind all 36 songs is uniform, the tones of each track are vastly different. Morgan has dabbled with Hip-Hop in the past, but this album contains multiple of the “crap” genre. Various numbers have a theme of rock. Above all else, though, he adds songs to his legacy that is easily distinguishable for being his: contemporary country with lyrics that convey complete openness.

Jack Lucania’s rap perspective: 

Albums should universally be 7-15 tracks long, with a cohesive meaning and purpose. This is what separates an artist’s album and a playlist. This 36-track compilation does not accomplish what I believe constitutes an album. It would be better described as a Morgan Wallen fan’s favorites playlist. That being said, when putting the concept(or lack thereof) aside, Morgan Wallen does provide great performances with the likes of HARDY, ERNEST, and my favorite country artist, Eric Church. As a cohesive listen, there are some inevitable dips in quality due to the sheer length of the project, but there is much to appreciate.

Highlights of the album

• Dying Man

The album’s closer is dedicated to Wallen’s two-year-old son, Indie. He describes singers who died at early ages due to substance abuse (Elvis Presley and Hank Williams) in the chorus and how he used to carelessly anticipate joining them the same way. When his son was born, his entire perspective changed, as Indie now serves as a continuous reminder to be wary of alcoholism.

• Man Made a Bar (feat. Eric Church)

In what was, by far, the best result of a feature to a track on One Thing at a Time, Church and Wallen shares a duet about the true purpose of taverns. Eric Church provides an incredible second verse, bringing a hint of the traditional country into the melody that crafts together a captivating blend. Packed with metaphors related to the book of Genesis in the Bible, it states that God created men and women, but he didn’t make any place for them to go when they fall out of love. 

• Ain’t That Some

When Wallen posted a 2023 hype video with this song behind it, I couldn’t wait for it to be on Spotify. The two-and-a-half-minute rap/country blend is full of electricity. It acknowledges that listeners might’ve grown tired of songs related to growing up in the South but stresses that most people haven’t even tried the pastimes he and his buddies have done.

• Everything I Love

This tune is about a specific aspect of break-ups that is difficult to get past. In one of the eight songs Wallen had released before this album, he explains that he wishes he hadn’t shared all of his favorite things to do with his ex-girlfriend: now they all remind him of her. This isn’t a typical country break-up song: its electric guitar and drum influences intentionally push the music forward, conveying a lively tone. 

•  Outlook

Morgan’s sister, Ashlyne Wallen, joins him on a hymn about how his perspective of the world has changed in recent years. Morgan points out that he used to believe he was always the target of everyone’s criticism, but in reality, more people supported him than he imagined. He explains that he’s become more patient with setbacks because he knows God observes everything and will give him a hand. 

Artist Performance: 7.7

Production: 6.8

Replay Value: 9.0

Overall: 7.8/10

Week 3 Hip-Hop Release

Love Sick – Don Toliver(ALBUM)

Don Toliver has been no stranger to making hits these past couple of years. In 2020, his track with Internet money & Gunna, Lemonade made its way into every TikToker’s rotation. 

Don Toliver has proven that his soft vocal inflictions and ability to float on any beat he’s handed are exactly what the Pop-Rap scene wants. His 2021 project, Life’s a Don, with the likes of Travis Scott and Baby Keem, could very well be viewed as Don’s best release thus far, setting a high bar for Love Sick. 

That being said, Don Toliver accomplished creating a relatively cohesive melodic album that brings interesting features and solid overall performances. 

The production techniques, specifically the transitions between tracks, is reminiscent of Lil Yachty’s Let’s Start Here (Previously featured on HipHop Hillbillies) or last year’s Heroes and Villains by Metro Boomin’. 

Unfortunately, Love Sick is relatively generic. This project is best described as a seductive and melodic compilation of some of Don’s extras. The writing is repetitive and lazy, and the concept fits in easily with the current pop trends. Although Don seems content in the pop-rap lane, I would have liked to see him extend to something outside of his comfort zone.

As an album, Love Sick isn’t anything special, but TikTok and pop stations will definitely love what Don brings here. 

Sam Westerman’s country perspective: 

Similar to Lil Yachty’s recent album, Let’s Start Here, Love Sick conveys an “otherworldly” vibe, which from what I’ve observed, is becoming popular for producers in the hip-hop genre. Although I wasn’t a fan of the extent of psychedelic rap in Yachty’s album, Love Sick, creates a similar feeling that I don’t mind. In a heartfelt album with features that I like to listen to, Lil Durk and Atlanta-born Future, this is my favorite rap project of 2023. Yachty, Don Toliver, and others yet to release continue to leave “MANSION MUSIK” in the dust.

Highlights of the album

• Leave The Club (feat. GoRilla & Lil Durk)

Leave the club starts off as a light, mostly instrumental track with Don floating over the beat. My one gripe with this song would be the chorus, as it sounds poorly mixed and repetitive. That being said, getting past three screechy, whiny choruses is worth it because we get an awesome beat switch halfway through, introducing GoRilla and Lil Durk to the track. I wish the switch lasted longer, though, because it’s the best-sounding verse across the album and changes up the melodic and sometimes whiny vocals from Don. 

• Go Down (feat. TisaKorean)

Leave the Club and Go Down are similar in that they both have incredible beat switches to production that far surpasses the rest of the album, but only for about 30 seconds. Go Down has the best product choices of the entire album, and the song flows very well. TisaKorean’s feature was excellent too, and with the beat switch I mentioned earlier, it makes for a nice duality between Don and TisaKorean. 

• If I Had (feat. Charlie Wilson)

The slow tempo and delivery Don brings to this track is a nice change from the rest of the album. In my opinion, this is also Don’s best performance across the album. His vocal inflections and voice control aren’t perfect but make for a song that’s easy listening. Charlie Wilson’s feature comes in at a nice time to change up the soundscape, preventing it from sounding too monotonic. 

Artist Performance: 5/10

Production: 7.9/10

Replay Value: 6.7/10

Overall: 6.5/10