I enjoy rap music on a regular basis, but I don’t enjoy rap that just uses curse words and slang terms for body parts as the main focus of the song. And in the case of Meek Mill’s debut album “Dreams & Nightmares,” that lingo makes up most of the album.  

Released Tuesday, the album’s track “Rich and Famous,” featuring Louie V, is a shallow song that tries to convince girls they should be shallow and try to “get with” Mill, whose real name is Robert Williams, because he’s going to be rich. Mill wants women to use him for his money but then, in other songs, he pokes fun at the characteristics of fake people.

Another song that overuses curse words is “In God We Trust.” A rapper should be able to create verses and rhymes from much more than four expletives. There were sections of the song that just alternated between the F-word and the N-word. This song also sounded terrible because the track and the flow of the lyrics didn’t match well at all. The lyrics felt forced and just made the song painful to listen to. “My trigger finger itchin’, Palms itchin’ too / We back-to-back in ghosts, playin’ peek-a-boo,” Mill sings.

The only song I somewhat enjoyed from the album was “Who You’re Around,” featuring Mary J. Blige. It still lacks lyrical diversity – as did the rest of the album – but it is an inspirational song that could be considered an anthem for some people. It focuses on believing in yourself and not letting others bring you down. A classic “me against the world” song, “Who You’re Around” is a good one to blare from your headphones when you’re angry with the world.

Overall, the album and the artist were in need of a thesaurus because it quickly got old listening to the same curse words on every track and beats that clashed with the flow of the rappers.

 

Grade: D+