This is the latest album from the XO rapper Belly, who you may be familiar with not only for his affiliation with The Weeknd’s record label (or for the work that he did with The Weeknd on “Might Not”), or for his appearance on the remix of G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky and Cardi B’s hit song “No Limit” (which also featured French Montana and Juicy J), but because I actually covered him a little over a year ago when he released his “Mumble Rap” mixtape. You may remember that I enjoyed the tape a lot, it had some really catchy, sticky production, Belly had some great flows and clever wordplay throughout the project, and there are plenty of songs from the record that I still return to today, like “The Come Down Is Real Too,” “P.O.P.,” “Make A Toast,” and “Lullaby,” among several others. For a tape called “Mumble Rap,” Belly was most certainly not mumbling: he was putting out some really great stuff.
So, naturally, I was very excited when I heard that he was gonna be dropping another project. This one is his first full-length studio album since 2007’s “The Revolution” (yeah, even though he’s with XO, he’s been doing this for a really long time), and even though one might seem nervous given that it’s his first full-length album in over a decade, the fact that he’s still been dropping music leaves me much less nervous. What also has me excited going into the project is that Belly seems to be taking a small turn in a different direction here: given the title and some of the comments he’s made in interviews, it appears he’s going for something a bit more politically charged, focusing a bit on his personal experiences as an immigrant, as well as America’s rampant anti-immigration debates. I can’t wait to see what’s in store here, so let’s talk about it:
Another Note (ft. Zack): A very emotional song (or, would it be a freestyle given that it’s really only one verse?) about Belly’s anxieties and sadness (with a few touches about how he crossed the border to enter America), I really like this song’s very moody, spacey instrumentals, though I do think it takes a bit too long for Belly to actually come in. When he does, he comes through with a pretty emotional performance (that even sees him stop himself from crying mid-verse, which is kinda fascinating) that has some solid flow and decent bars, specifically that final one about crossing the border. Zack’s feature is subtle, but he does have some good vocals that mesh well with the production. Good track.
Xion: Not to be confused with the character from the “Kingdom Hearts” video game series, Belly raps one long, more aggressive verse here over some really dark production with catchy electronic instrumentals and a pretty strong beat. Belly’s somewhat fast-paced flow is really great, and I like his performance as a whole, though I do kinda wonder why there’s so much flexing and “pussy humming” on this track if this album is called “IMMIGRANT.” Even so, I think Belly sells the track nicely and makes something I’ll definitely want to come back to in the future.
Who Hurt You: Sampling The Weeknd’s track “The Zone” off of “Thursday” (and very tastefully, might I add), Belly makes a track that’s a bit more cutthroat and dark with a click-clacking drum beat and more brooding instrumentals. I also dig Belly’s performance a good bit, as it feels like there’s a little more emotional edge and sinisterness to his voice. Political references are at best subtle on this track, but at its core, the music is plenty enjoyable and Belly’s flows remain consistently interesting, even as he raps about women and “hopping on the wrong dick.” Yeah, it’s not as big a statement as it should be, but hey, I like the song.
Immigrant (ft. Meek Mill and M.I.A.): The big, huge statement of the album, Belly uses this track to speak his mind against the anti-immigration debate in the United States, and he also brings along Meek Mill and M.I.A. to help get his message across. This was the track I was the most excited for, and right from the start, I like the more lowkey production and the kinda slanted drumbeat here. Belly’s lyricism stays strong and focused on the political themes here, and the chorus is very catchy and memorable. Meek Mill’s guest verse features really great, somewhat unstructured flow, and M.I.A.’s feature, though not the most memorable part of the song, adds some decent variance to it. I definitely wasn’t disappointed by the song, great stuff Belly.
Numbers (ft. Yo Gotti): And right after that huge statement, Belly brings in Yo Gotti to flex. Huh, a bit strange, but okay then. If he’s gonna do that and completely ditch the “IMMIGRANT” theme from here on out, he’s at least gonna have to make the songs good on their own if he wants to keep this album strong. Unfortunately, he’s not off to the greatest start with this song: sure, some of the dark production is pretty cool, and some of Belly’s flows are kinda fun, but this feels like a case of him giving in somewhat to modern-day rap flows and sounds and just trying to bite those styles. Yo Gotti’s verse does have more varied flows, but I find the hook to be a bit more boring. It’s got some good things going for it, but I think the song is lacking too hard in a number of areas.
All For Me (ft. Metro Boomin): With the help of some Metro Boomin production, Belly raps about drug use and love…right, because on an album called “IMMIGRANT,” this is what we wanted to hear. Either way, I do like some of Belly’s more autotune-assisted vocals on the hook, and the very light, airy, piano-driven instrumental gives it a nice, emotional edge. Sure, it is a bit short, but I think that’s good in that it keeps the song from really overstaying its welcome. I guess if Belly’s gonna stray the focus away and basically make the rest of the album about everything but the title, at least he’s making a few good tracks out of it.
Dust (ft. French Montana): I can’t lie, no disrespect to Belly, but I saw that he picked French Montana as a feature and now I wish I could trade him for Pusha T, especially given that this album seems to be more socially and politically charged…or at least that’s what you’d think if you didn’t actually know that this song is about flexing. So why else is this thing called “IMMIGRANT” again? I don’t know, but even with some more upbeat, hard-hitting production, French Montana’s flow and performances remain really dull and uninteresting to me. And even though Belly comes through with a rather catchy, autotune-assisted hook, some of his flows just sound a bit silly to me. Yeah, wasn’t really that crazy about this one, honestly.
What You Want (ft. The Weeknd): I’m glad Belly brought Abel in here as a feature, but again, all of this about sex and girls is making me wonder if Belly is trying to gimmick us. Regardless, the song has a more moody, ethereal feel to it, which is definitely an interesting new sound for Belly. Unfortunately, his autotune-assisted vocals on the hook just sound a bit goofy to me. It doesn’t feel like there’s much emotion to his sound, his vocals just sound a bit too unsteady to the point where they just sound kinda ugly. And it’s a shame because The Weeknd sounds amazing on his verse, and Belly’s own verse is a bit stronger than the hook. I’d hesitate to call this one of the album’s worst, and it might even grow on me with a few more listens, but for now, that hook is killing me.
What Does It Mean?: A much more sad cut after all that flexing (and singing about women on the last one), I liked a lot of the production early on, as it once again sounds very spacey and lowkey compared to some of the other songs, but…this song has me confused; why is Belly trying to make a slower Chris Brown song? Seriously, his vocal inflection just sounds like Chris Brown to me, and it almost feels like he’s trying to cop Chris’s style here. I mean, sure, his vocals are rather smooth and he definitely tries his hardest, but at points, it just ends up sounding a bit laughable. Maybe it’ll grow on me if I give it a few more listens, but for now, it just sounds like Chris Brown-lite.
Maintain (ft. NAV): As if flexing for several songs on your “statement” of an album isn’t enough, Belly brings in NAV for a feature here. Joy. And if THAT isn’t enough, NAV is spitting bars on this song like “let my nuts and my chain hang.” Please excuse me while I go barf. *runs off, throws up, brushes teeth, and washes out mouth* Okay, I’m back. Anyway, this is another example of Belly giving in to some modern-day rap sounds. Hell, it kinda sounds like he’s trying to make a Migos song with the very dark, somewhat wavy production and a hook that literally immediately brought me back to “rain drop, drop top” from “Bad and Boujee” (oh, by the way, it’s “new phone, who dis,” not “who’s this, new phone”). And even if Belly’s flow is kinda cool, NAV’s verse pretty much kills the song: who told this guy that “showing emotion on a song” is the equivalent of “sounded like a 7-year-old?” Literally, his performance had me laughing because of how damn goofy it sounded. Sorry, but nah, this ain’t it, chief.
Street Cathedral: Belly takes us down a few more emotional routes with this track, but again, we’ve kinda lost what the album was going for in its massive “statement,” so this is really less than a consolation prize at this point. And while some of the production is mysterious and dark (and the beat is kinda cool), I kinda get some NAV vibes from this, and when Belly gets me to do that, he’s doing something really wrong. And honestly, the rest of the song just feels kinda dull: Belly’s performance sounds sleepy, and the hook doesn’t really stick whatsoever. I don’t really remember caring much for the closing track to Belly’s “Mumble Rap,” and I’m disappointed to say that hasn’t changed here. This definitely wasn’t a hard-hitting closer, it was a shrug and a “whatever.”
Curiously, for an album called “IMMIGRANT,” this is not the massive political statement Belly may have led you to believe it was. But regardless, is it still an enjoyable project? Does Belly still come through with a good collection of tracks here? Well…eh. Belly continues to show us that he has an ear for great production as he goes down a lot of different lanes with this project, but after the title track, it’s not like Belly has a lot of interesting things to say, and his vocal performances start to get a bit monotonous, especially as he starts to go down a few “singsongy” routes with autotune-assisted vocals that are, at their best, smooth but unexciting, and at their worst, silly and song-killing. Honestly, now that Belly’s on the train, can he and NAV leave the singing to The Weeknd? He does it best, guys. And honestly, speaking of The Weeknd, he and Meek Mill are the only truly “great” features on the album (sorry, M.I.A.), and even though the cuts after the title track aren’t terrible, it just feels like they’re lacking, and not really as attention-grabbing as an album called “IMMIGRANT” should be. I know Belly is capable of better than this, and I’m sure he can certainly bounce back, but next time, try to focus within your themes a bit more, and not use a “political statement” as a selling point to get people talking about a largely non-political album. It didn’t work for Thirty Seconds to Mars earlier this year, either, you’re just lucky your songs mostly sounded better.
Favorite tracks: Another Note, Xion, Who Hurt You, Immigrant, All For Me
Least favorite tracks: Numbers, Dust, Maintain, Street Cathedral
Rating: Okay (as this is also review #140 since the Pusha T re-review didn't count, that's another album breaking the "every 10th review is an 'Excellent'" pattern)
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