You may have heard: Atlanta's become an undeniable commercial force for rap over the past 10 years, producing huge stars and molding hip-hop's core sound. A relentless microscope now fixates upon the city, waiting expectantly for the next 2 Chainz, Gucci, or Jeezy. Creative peaks and valleys are glossed over, a craggy history remembered as one long ascent, success a continually foregone conclusion. And so we end up with a "flourishing" young scene as rampant with speculation and opportunism as genuine creative talent. Although veterans (Nicki, Gucci) pop up on Mike WiLL Made It's Ransom mixtape, it's mainly a showcase for rookies (iLoveMakonnen, Young Thug) and aspiring stars (the various members of Two-9, Bankroll Fresh), eager to stake their claim on the city's storied history.
Much as DJ Mustard's 10 Summers sat in the shadow of his work on YG's much more successful My Krazy Life, Ransom feels like a supplement to Rae Sremmurd's SremmLife. But where Mustard's sound remained consistent across his two major projects, Mike WiLL's Ear Drummers stable diverged sharply for this release. SremmLife is a jubilant pop record, packed with hooks and teeming with effervescent juvenile energy. But Ransom fits its stark black-and-leather cover art to a T. The production throughout, replete with minor-key piano loops and metallic textures, conjures up a sinister atmosphere, even when the rappers themselves pull away from this brooding mien.
Mike WiLL made a name for himself thanks to a counterintuitive taste for subtlety. In a time when clobbering, maximal Luger beats dominated the Down South mixtape circuit, Mike WiLL was drawn to subtle effects, like the way his use of EQ filtering and panning submerged listeners in the emotional space of a booming strip club record. On Ransom, the Ear Drummers production team is at its best when working towards a similarly crafted style, where use of space and attention to the details of timbre and atmosphere takes precedence. No other producers so precisely approximate tactile sensations. At their best, these beats evoke steam rising from steel.
The 21-track street tape can feel like something of an endurance test; the superstar-laden "Buy the World" displays the shortcomings of Mike WiLL's approach, an example of how easy it is to lose track of the forest while focusing so intently on the trees. In fact, it's the star vehicles which suffer the most; "I Lied", which also appeared on The Pinkprint, aims for sincerity but feels like a detached approximation; Juicy J feature "Don't Trust" has the grim obligation of a winter commute. And unfortunately, a fizzy carbonation of the "Choppin' Blades" beat can't redeem RiFF RAFF's loveless false advertising: "Jody Highroller, anything can happen." Nothing does.
