Meek Mill - Championships

Meek Mill
Championships
2018
Spotify

So Meek Mill is out of prison and suddenly everyone loves him again. Sent to jail for violating his probation Mill became a flash point for criminal justice reform with many seeing his imprisonment as another example of a rigged system. The funny thing is, before all this Meek had become little more than a punchline. Nicki Minaj broke up with him, Drake clearly won their beef and a video of Meek slipping on some ice outside of his mother's house went viral. It seemed like Meek was taking L after L, but going to prison really galvanized the hip hop community around him, all his failings seeming to be swept aside for the larger issues at play. Meek's style has not changed an ounce, He's yelling, He's Old School and He's repping Philly. That can breakdown nearly every Meek Mill song out there and Championships shows no signs of changing that narrative. Sometimes, just like in his entire career, this style comes together and the song becomes a banger. "On Me" with Cardi B is one of those songs. The beat is perfect for Meek's aggressive style, minimal but louder than hell, and Cardi B drops a relentless flow that bloes her recent features out of the water. These kinds of bangers are great, but when they are peppered in to an album about social justice reform it feels odd and clunky. The message is not unified on this record.

There is no shortage of superstars on this record with Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Young Thug, Drake, Kodak Black and 21 Savage rounding out a few on the feature list. These artists give Meek a sense of grandeur that He slides into well on this album. Instead of desperately seeking approval as He has done on previous albums, He feels like He's arrived here. It gives Championships an ease that many of Meek's record were missing. Meek Mill's delivery makes this album feel even longer than it's almost 70 minute run time suggests. You really notice it on the track with Young Thug and Future "Splash Warning" because Young Thug switches his style up so much while Future and Meek use the exact same delivery on every damn track. The albums title track is the most jubilant, but again Meek Mill is taking us down memory lane. His reliance on nostalgia sometimes is so frustrating to listen to. "Going Bad" the track with the Drake feature works pretty damn well, but working with Drake makes seems like such an odd move given the public bad blood between the two. Championships is Meek Mill's best record in years, maybe ever, but in the end unfortunately it's still Meek Mill.

7.7 out of 10