A Review of Sheck Wes' "MUDBOY"

BITCH! Harlem rapper, Sheck Wes looks to leave an impression with his debut album, "MUDBOY." Sheck Wes known for his songs "Mo Bamba" and "Live SheckWes Die SheckWes," began gaining popularity during the summer. Sheck Wes, who was the first signee to Cactus Jack Records, (Travis Scott's label) makes an appearance on the song "NO BYSTANDERS" on Travis Scott's "ASTROWORLD." For the most part, Sheck Wes' music can be described as club songs with little to no outside value, it will be interesting to see what we get on this album. Now let's get to the track list! "MUDBOY" is a composition of fourteen tracks with no listed features. However, Sheck Wes could be following a trend set by Travis Scott on "ASTROWORLD" where the features aren't listed but there's a plentiful supply of features. It'll be interesting to see how this album comes together. Without further ado, let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review 👂🏾

Scale

Per song
+.5 for beat selection
+.5 for flow
+.5 for content/impact
+.5 for hit value

Points will be taken off for:
Fatigue in listening
Lack of diversity in beats

Raw Score: The amount of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.

Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.

Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.

Mindfucker
A weird beat starts us off with this album, with a bass that's a bit off tempo, an aggressive high hat and a distorted sound across the beat from time to time. Sheck Wes' verse is okay at best, and the flow leaves a bit to be desired.
+.5

Live SheckWes Die SheckWes
This song is one of the club songs that I described in Initial Thoughts, where there's no outside value to it. Sheck Wes spends more time saying his name on the hook of this song than on his actual rapping in his singular verse.
+.5

Gmail
The bass in the beat on this song drowns out Sheck Wes' voice on the first verse which makes it harder than normal to listen to what Sheck Wes says. On the second verse, it's easier to hear Sheck Wes' words. The flow on this second verse is good, but the beat is overpowering compared to Sheck Wes' voice.
+.5

Wanted
A beat where the bass doesn't seem to disappear at all. The rest of the sounds on this beat are drowned out by the bass. The standout on this song is the beat, however the beat leaves a lot to be desired for areas outside of the club.
+.5

Chippi Chippi
Another one of the club songs described in Initial Thoughts. Another super bass heavy beat that can drown out Sheck Wes' voice from time to time.
+.5

Never Lost
Sheck Wes' cadence changes a bit as he has more of a singing cadence on this song. This song is calmer with the bass compared to the first five songs. The fourth verse on this song is trash,
"Going in like a motherfucking all-star (All-star)
I'ma, uh, all-star to her
Yes Sheck Wes got all-star to her
Like it's 9-5
Bitch I'm darker than a motherfuckin' Waka-Wakanda"
As you can see rhyme scheme or lack there of, is not consistent.
+0

WESPN
The rhyme schemes on this song are trash once again. Some lines simply don't rhyme with each other. For example,
"They don't like the sad music (Nigga, burn up)
Sheck Wes been in a sad state (A sad state)
You ain't never had to do shit, huh? (Never)"
Where is the rhyme scheme in these lines?
The bass has taken a step back on this beat, so we can hear other instruments like a synthesizer. Overall not a song, I would revisit.
+0

Kyrie
Sheck Wes ends the previous song singing,
"(Kyrie, K-K-Kyrie, I've been ballin' like)
(Kyrie, K-K-Kyrie, I've been ballin' like)
(Kyrie, K-K-Kyrie, I've been ballin' like)"
which sets up this song.
This ends up to be a component of the hook on this song where Sheck Wes raps,
"K-K-Kyrie, K-K-K-Kyrie (I sauce 'em)
I sauce 'em up like Kyrie, K-K-K-Kyrie"
This song appears to be about the Boston Celtics as Sheck Wes raps about Kyrie Irving, the superstar point guard of the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum, the NBA sophomore Small Forward every Celtics fanboy has a hard on for. Overall a solid song.
+1

Mo Bamba
The hit that put Sheck Wes on the map during the summer of 2018. Named after NBA lottery pick for the Orlando Magic, Mo Bamba. This soft bass works well with Sheck Wes' voice so we can hear the words on the song. The cadence and flow work with the beat making this the most complete song I've heard from Sheck Wes.
+1.5

Burn Slow (Interlude)
Not sure why this song is considered an interlude because it's one of the more complete songs on the album thus far. The softer bass on this song along with Sheck Wes' yelling on the second verse draws more attention to him versus the beat.
+1

Jiggy On The Shits
On this song Sheck Wes appears to tell us a story when he raps,
"17 years old (17)
I'm in this country alone (Fuck)
I got no ID or passport (Passport, bitch)
I'm the only livin' John Doe (John Doe)
I've been roamin' these streets (I've been roamin' these streets, Mudboy)"
Unsure of what country he appears to be talking about during the bridge we get our answers. Sheck Wes raps in wolof, the native language of Senegal. At times towards the end the song can sound like noise because there's a lot going on in terms of the beat and Sheck Wes' voice.
+1

Fuck Everybody
This bass heavy song, accompanied by Sheck Wes yelling, gives us a bit of the "Mo Bamba" feel. Sheck Wes simply says fuck everybody and elaborates about who he specifically he's saying "fuck you" to in the third verse when he says,
"Fuck my school, nigga (Fuck school!)
Fuck the fuckin' police too, nigga (Fuck 12 too!)"
This is another solid song put forth on the second half of "MUDBOY".
+1

Danimals
We get a whispering cadence on the first verse of this song, which works well with, the soft bass that may appear nonexistent compared to some of the other songs on this album. The smoothest song on this album thus far.
+1

Vetements Socks
The first verse has perhaps, the best rhyme scheme on the entire album. Sheck Wes raps,
"Drop top coupe (Bitch)
Riding with your boo thang (Skrrr)
Fuck my old bitch (Bitch)
I thought we had a true thang
Sheck Wes got them bars (Bars)
I give it up like Wu-Tang (Wu, Wu, Wu)
They went to Sheck Wes show (My show)
And my name is what you sang"
This song is a great way to close out the album. The sound and vibe on this song is totally different from the sound and vibe of some of the songs on the first half album.
+1.5

Sheck Wes' "MUDBOY"

Raw Score: 7/14
Quality Score: 10.5/14
Playback Value: 1/5

The first half of this project is trash! There's no evidence of a well thought out song. Tracks one through seven seem rushed and hold little to no value outside of a party atmosphere. Yelling Sheck Wes is better than whispering Sheck Wes by far. Rappers should stay away from bass heavy beats unless they plan to yell on their track and on most of the songs in the beginning of "MUDBOY" had a heavy bass with a cadence that can be described as whispering or soft. The second half of this album is a lot better as we see more of a song structure and rhyme scheme. The content on the second half of the album was also a lot better simply because we could understand that Sheck Wes had something to say. My standout tracks for this album are "Mo Bamba," "Burn Slow (Interlude)" and "Vetements Socks." Doing this album with no features is impressive however because Sheck Wes can put what he can do on display for the listener. Overall, a subpar and rushed debut for Sheck Wes. " Go stream Sheck Wes' "MUDBOY" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OLDMLK.com on Instagram @OLDMLK!