For as long as most people can recall, French Montana has played a very particular part in the hip-hop scene. He nearly entirely belongs in the rapper genre known as the “single-faceted hitmaker.” When French started dropping Smack Dvd freestyles and moving through his several mixtape series in the 2000s, he may have been considered more of a poetic miracle spitter. However, he has been something of a one note trap-flute ever since the majority of the world was first exposed to him through XXL’s 2012 Freshmen list and the more commercially oriented rap hits that propelled him there (“Shot Caller” and “Pop That”). With his most recent mixtape, though, it seems French has gone above and beyond to break this typecast curse.
The fifth chapter of the South Bronx rapper’s well-liked mixtape series, which debuted back in 2009, is titled Mac & Cheese 5. Although French’s songs on the cassettes are usually more powerful and lyrically rich than those on his other albums, anything released after his early 2012 days of being chained by MMG and Bad Boy saw him actually put down his pen and take up bottles of Cîroc. Although his change in appearance and sound helped him succeed in the mainstream, the original Coke Boy fans were always left wanting more, and this time they got it. Without a mouthful of unnecessary Auto-Tune, the first half of the project sounds like an unstoppable breath of fresh air. Rapping like his rent depends on it, French delivers over soul sample boom bap sounds, giving the impression that he’s back in the BX. He delivers vicious bars on the opening song, “Dirty Bronx Intro,” in response to everyone who has ever questioned his sincerity or position in the game. Saint JHN, Kanye West, and Buju Banton’s song “Stand United” sounds like it could have been a lost Gang Starr bonus track, and he delivers some of the project’s strongest bars on “Splash Brothers.”
This is not to suggest that French Montana went all God MC on Mac & Cheese 5; on the contrary, he is still making haphazard attempts at producing hit singles. The songs “Okay” with Lil Baby and “Millionaire Row” with Rick Ross and Meek Mill are among the most overt examples of this “hit-record-paint-by-numbers” method he is known to employ. However, some well-written hit efforts exist that aren’t solely made up of Auto-Tuned and ad-libbed porn. The song “Money Ain’t a Thing” featuring Lil Durk is a catchy and polished track that might be a summertime hit. Not to mention Bryson Tiller’s “Fake Friends,” which has a really palatable trap soul vibe and would definitely pass the “late night drive” test. Even if Mac & Cheese 5 still has far too many “Haaaaan” ad-libs to be awarded a Pulitzer, it will be remembered as one of French’s greatest works in a long time. He’s getting ready for a strong second act, whether it’s because he was sick of chasing hits or just wanted to return to his Bronx roots.
English