Steve 'Flash' JuonTo clarify from the jump Hitkidd is the dude in the middle of all the fine ladies on the cover of “Renegade.” He’s a Memphis, TN producer who reached nationwide recognition by lacing GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” Urban legend holds that he offered the beat to Megan Thee Stallion first, gave her a fair chance to jump on it, then offered it to GloRilla while she was “on the toilet and gonna get my lashes done.” So much of this sounds like a narrative crafted to hype up both artists I’m a little bit skeptical. He just happened to have a beat for Megan that she passed on that blew up? It makes her look like she missed out on a hit. GloRilla was almost too busy going to the bathroom to take the opportunity Megan missed? It’s a hell of a story. That’s probably all it is. GloRilla and Hitkidd have been feuding ever since the song went viral, so the truth is ultimately a lot different than whatever narrative is being spun through sockpuppet edits.
There are two things you can’t miss no matter whose side of the story you are reading — the fact Hitkidd gets first billing over GloRilla when you see her video, and the fact he’s surrounding himself with a whole new group of female rappers not named Gloria Woods. The subtext is in plain sight. He’s saying the quiet part out loud. Do I need to spell it out? Okay. Hitkidd is saying “I’m the hit maker and I’m the back breaker.” He’s saying he can do this without her. He’s saying he can pluck any random up-and-coming female rapper out of obscurity and do for them what he did for Woods. He’s saying if you disagree with me on who made you a star, I’m not making any more beats for you, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Will “You the Type” do the same thing for Aleza, K Carbon, Slimeroni and Gloss Up that “F.N.F.” did for GloRilla? Personally I hope so. I’m not taking sides in the Hitkidd vs. GloRilla feud. I just want to see more black women become rap stars. I want GloRilla to glow up and I want all of the ladies here to do the same. I’m hoping that Hitkidd genuinely wants the same thing and that we won’t read about another public feud between him and them in a year or two. The song is certainly catchy enough to make waves. It’s got the trademark crunk-ass Memphis production style, empowering the protagonists of the track to talk shit about a bunch of fuckboys who are “the type” to act like they’re hot when they’re really not. It’s “Anaconda” taken to the dirty dirty ya heard me?
Curiously though GloRilla is still featured on and throughout “Renegade,” including the hit song that started the whole drama in the first place, along with tracks like “Ghetto” and “Set the Tone” parts 1 & 2. It could be that he had the vocals already and could go whatever he wanted with them with or without her approval. Maybe they just stopped beefing and agreed to work together. Their dispute blew up in 2022 and I haven’t seen an update in 2023, nor did searching for one writing this review provide any answers. I’m going to choose to take the most positive outlook here and assume (always dangerous) it’s all peace unless I hear either one of them say otherwise.
As much as I like the Memphis focus here between both the talent and the producers, there are times that that the personalities outshine the production — yeah I said it. “Set the Tone” part 1 sounded inspired, but part 2 sounds monotonous and tired. It probably can’t be helped given Hitkidd was doing nearly an hour of music by himself. Some things were just going to fall through the cracks with him juggling so much talent and also running his own label (Campsouth Records). There’s also a reliance on sequels and remixes you’d have to be blind not to notice. “Shabooya” gets both the original treatment and a new edition with Lola Brooke. The original “F.N.F.” is joined by a new take with verses from Latto and JT (City Girls). See a pattern here?
“Renegade” has a lot going for it. We rarely see this many women in the spotlight, even if Hitkidd has quite literally inserted himself into the middle of the picture. Putting whether or not that was egotistical aside it’s still an underrepresented group in rap music, and after the untimely departure of Gangsta Boo in January it’s inspiring to see a new generation of ladies from Memphis who could cite her as a role model thriving and striving. Tracks that miss the mark like “Calling Me” and “Luv A” can’t take away from the empowering nature of the release as a whole. I sincerely want to see Hitkidd both make new female rap stars and let them BE the stars. He’ll get paid as a producer regardless of whether he’s in the spotlight or not.