Steve 'Flash' Juon“I’m gon’ beat him down with a bat
I put an opp in a wheelchair
Give me an hour I’m leaving him flat”
Lil Mabu owes everything in his life to Dusty Locane. While his tag team partner from “No Snitching” is doing a bid, he’s currently enjoying his freedom and even attending an elite private school in New York City, all while releasing his “Double M’s” album. If it weren’t for Dusty’s gravelly delivery and viral fame, I never would have heard of Mabu at all. I hope with all that money he has to get a privileged education, he’s putting some money on Dusty’s commissary, and/or hiring lawyers to help get him out of prison. It’s the least he could do.
The fact Lil Mabu has to say “I’m Not a Cop” is saying the quiet part out loud. The thing is that Mabu isn’t quiet at all. He might whisper for effect during this particular song, but when he’s at his full throat, he’s growling like a 6ix9ine clone. Now look — I’m saying this to Mabu in particular — but I’m also saying this to white people in general. If you love hip-hop music and culture, and/or you grew up as a part of it, you can make an authentic contribution to it by being true to yourself and respectful of those who came before you. I don’t hear that from Mabu. He sounds like he’s imitating instead of creating, talking about “the trap” when he’s about as far removed from that life as one could possibly be. The disconnect of “King of the World” is hard to ignore.
If you’re a white rapper from the Hypnotize Minds family, I might believe you talking about trapping and capping. If you’re enrolled in a private academy and make machine gun noises on your songs, I feel like you’re goofing around the way comedian Michael Dapaah was on “Mans Not Hot.” And let’s be clear about this — a lot of rappers who say they’re trapping or gang affiliated are studio gangsters. This has been going on since the 1980’s. There’s still a substantial difference between an artist who grew up around it and can tell an authentic narrative from experience, whether they did it or not, and an artist who comes from privilege and never had to hustle and never KNEW anybody who did. “For all of the people hating, I’m like Satan.”
Well when I was growing up X-Clan called white people devils, but I don’t think that’s what Mabu meant on “Dumping It Too.” He relies on Rah Swish for credibility. “Fuck with my white boy? Aiyyo Mabu/need a job done, then I got you.” I’m baffled by the fact everyone on this project not only says that quiet part out loud, they say it through a motherfucking megaphone lined up in front of a string of megaphones. Okay props for honesty but seriously… what the fuck are y’all thinking? I can’t ignore how weird this is no matter how hard I try. This silver spoon in his mouth white boy who has caviar on his toast for breakfast is talking like a drill rapper from Chicago. There’s not enough cough syrup in the world to numb my brain into taking any of this at face value and if you’re reading this you probably feel the same way. If not and you enjoy what Mabu does, more power to you. It’s not for me.