Young Chop is most known for his epic collaborations with Chief Keef. Together with Keef the duo helped to bring drill music to the mainstream, and subsequently Keef got a major label deal with Interscope Records (from which he was dropped due to complications with his personal life). Keef released a huge record Finally Rich which featured the smash singles Love Sosa and Don’t Like which were both produced by Chop. Unfortunately over the past few years Keef’s star has been fading. Chop on the other hand seems to be consistent. Apart from production he also raps. He has released at least one album since 2013 and just a few days ago he released his fifth official studio album titled King Chop.The album features 12 tracks, and features are minimal which is great. These days it seems albums and songs are all about who you feature. Often times features take up too much spotlight and take away from the overall message and feel of an album, so it’s great that Chop isn’t hiding behind any names. This is not a compilation album, it’s a Young Chop album. Only 3 songs contain featured artists. Chief Keef is one of them along with Riff Raff and, Lud Foe, Vic Mensa and King100james.Needless to say, Chop is not a lyricist. He shines best when he’s only working on the beat, so don’t expect anything profound from him lyrically. If you’ve listened to drill music before then King Chop won’t offer anything different. Guns, lean, money, macho bravado and braggadocio are pretty much the topics that are covered in this album. There are some catchy hooks such as the one on Ring Ring Ring. Chop uses Auto-tune on his vocals and sings some of his lyrics – he’s no Chief Keef. As far as the beats are concerned Chop is hot as hell. He hasn’t strayed far from his mesmerizing, slow-tempo, trap beats which first made him popular. Surprisingly he didn’t handle all the production by himself, possibly in an attempt to bring variety to the album – a feature which is generally not prominent.Chop released a video for the song What You Need a few days ago via his YouTube channel, which you can watch below. Overall this album is average. It’s nothing special at all, but at the same time it’s not completely terrible because the production is very good. There are some producers who can rap well but Chop is not in that class. He is no Dre, Kanye or Large Professor. Chop’s best asset musically is his ability to craft catchy beats. Nonetheless I can’t be mad at the brother for wanting to express himself in ways other than through beats only. I’m a producer myself so I understand the urge to drop some bars on the mic. The tracklist is below. The album as a whole doesn’t paint a big picture. It’s simply a collection of songs by the same artist. The entire tracklist is below. You can purchase it from iTunes if you wish to own a copy.1. What You Need2. W.A.G.T.F.T.3. Ring Ring Ring (f. Chief Keef & Riff Raff)4. With tha Choppa5. Between the Lines6. Just Do Me7. Fool with It (f. Lud Foe)8. Can't Hear You9. My Jeweler10. Mo Money, Mo Problems11. Old Hunnits New New Hunnits12. Around My Way (f. Vic Mensa & King100James)
