I can't blame Matt Jost and his excellent
review of 6ix9ine's last mixtape for the sense of trepidation I felt going
into "Dummy Boy." The dread I feel is directly related to what happened to
XXXTentacion just twenty-four hours before
I published my review of his album. The list of coincidences between the two is
uncanny despite the fact X was from Southern Florida and 6 hails from Bushwick:
numerous problems with the law, highly toxic public feuds with other artists,
a dedicated following developed over numerous mixtapes, and a seeming inability
to curb dangerously hedonistic pursuits that would destroy the fame and fortune
they recently acquired. Here's the key difference - X died right before I published
his album review even though it had been out a few months, while 6 is happily alive
and kicking for NOW. I stress the latter because 6 was arrested 9 days before his
first studio album on federal RICO charges including conspiracy to commit
murder and armed robbery. Despite offering to surrender his passport and post
two million dollars the presiding judge denied bail and ordered his incarceration
to continue, undoubtedly due to his already lengthy rap sheet.
Writing this review gives me the feeling that 6 is headed for the exact same fate
as X. When you make as many enemies as either man has made at such a young age the
odds of living to an OLD age decrease significantly. The (unsubstantiated)
rumor mill already has fellow inmates taunting him and/or feeling resentment toward
alleged preferential treatment he has received such as not being mixed in with the
general population. It may sound like the script of a movie to suggest someone he
has feuded with such as Chief Keef or Tadoe would put out a hit on him in prison,
but what just happened to "Whitey" Bulger is a reminder you're not any safer
in jail than on the streets -- maybe far less. I can only suggest that Mr. Hernandez
grow a pair of eyes in the back of his head. At the very least he's going to need
to keep his friends close and enemies closer, because even if he beats the case
and gets out of jail the long list of people he beefed with won't have gotten any
shorter. The one thing he's got going for him right now on "Dummy Boy" is the
number of high profile friends he's made since he first came on the scene as
Tekashi69. Example - Nicki Minaj appears twice on the album - once on "Mama"
and once on the album's second single "Fefe."
Second example - Kanye West appears twice on the album - once on "Kanga" and
again on the aforementioned "Mama," making the track a SUPER star affair and
a highly likely candidate for a future single.
It certainly can't hurt 6 to have two of the most commercially successful artists
of the last decade+ in their corner, although both could just as easily disassociate
from him and hang him out to dry. What did P. Diddy ever do for Shyne other than let
him do the time? Loyalty can be very fickle among rap superstars. One thing that
doesn't seem fickle though is 6ix9ine's dedication to his Latin fans, as he mixes
in his heritage and rhythms on crossover tracks like "Bebe."
And on songs like "Gotti" he's trying to change his image from a Teflon Don to a
hood philanthropist, cheerfully handing out money to the young and old in what one
can only presume is his old hood.
Credit where it's due, the production on "Dummy Boy" is amazing. Tay Keith, Scott
Storch, Murda Beatz and Ronny J among others lace 6 with some beats that match his
"wavy" sound and style perfectly. The tracks are heavy on the bottom and have lots
of room for 6 to flex his sing-song melodic flow. Like Mr. Jost though I have to at
least make mention of the fact that all of that shine doesn't necessarily polish up
the lack of lyrical depth.
"These b---hes think I'm stupid, I ain't stupid
Dummy boys fall in love with it, he stupid
All these hoes on my body, cut the bulls--t
All these hoes, they ain't loyal, y'all lookin' stupid
I just left Starlets and I ain't even cash out
Back out, straight to the trap house, I blow her back out
I'll pull her tracks out, got her running like it's track now
Like a SmackDown, +Rock Bottom+ I'ma pin her down
Hold up, let me get it started
B.B. with the Robins, lookin' all retarded
B.B. saggin, fly like a dragon
B---hes suck my d--- cause I'm fly like Aladdin" - "Tati"
Even a pro wrestling reference doesn't make up for how corny "fly like Aladdin" is,
though I give him props for delivering the line in a hard straight up flow instead
of a musical way that would have made it cheesier. In fact I like the songs like
"Kanga" where he just straight up rips the most, because he sounds like a cross
between Fatman Scoop and Fat Joe. 6ix9ine would make one hell of a hype man if he
wasn't a star in his own right. The question is how much longer will 6ix9ine be one?
Life behind bars isn't necessarily an impediment to a rap career any more, but it
certainly makes it impossible to be the flossy, rainbow colored public figure he
has been in the spotlight of late. No one can see a rainbow behind gray walls.
Music Vibes: 8.5 of 10
Lyric Vibes: 4.5 of 10TOTAL Vibes: 6.5 of 10
![[Dummy Boy]](../coverart/69-DummyBoy.jpg)
I can't blame Matt Jost and his excellent
review of 6ix9ine's last mixtape for the sense of trepidation I felt going
into "Dummy Boy." The dread I feel is directly related to what happened to
XXXTentacion just twenty-four hours before
I published my review of his album. The list of coincidences between the two is
uncanny despite the fact X was from Southern Florida and 6 hails from Bushwick:
numerous problems with the law, highly toxic public feuds with other artists,
a dedicated following developed over numerous mixtapes, and a seeming inability
to curb dangerously hedonistic pursuits that would destroy the fame and fortune
they recently acquired. Here's the key difference - X died right before I published
his album review even though it had been out a few months, while 6 is happily alive
and kicking for NOW. I stress the latter because 6 was arrested 9 days before his
first studio album on federal RICO charges including conspiracy to commit
murder and armed robbery. Despite offering to surrender his passport and post
two million dollars the presiding judge denied bail and ordered his incarceration
to continue, undoubtedly due to his already lengthy rap sheet.