Memphis emcee Key Glock came out the womb flexing.

Growing up with an absent father and incarcerated mother, Key Glock was hardened at a young age and endured calamity that no child should have to endure. As a young man with little guidance, Glock was frequently getting in trouble and sites music as his biggest distraction from his upsetting upbringing. Protege of fellow Memphis emcee Young Dolph, he burst onto the scene in 2017 after releasing his debut mixtape Glock Season under Dolph’s label Paper Route Empire. In 2019, the two teamed up for their collaborative mixtape Dumb and Dumber which peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200.

Less than a year after Dumb and Dumber, Mr. Glock has returned to the forefront of underground hip-hop with the release of his 16-track solo album, Yellow Tape. The album was released on January 31st, 2020 and contains no features.

The album starts with the cinematic intro “1997” where Glock flexes his difficult youth, while simultaneously drawing attention to the fact that the young emcee is only 22. He does so with an assault of braggadocious trap bars about ignoring women and buying expensive jewelry. While it might seem like these topics have been rapped about a thousand times before, right from the title track you can tell that Key Glock isn’t just a trapper adding to a saturated pool of indulgence and mediocracy but rather something fresh and new that is worth listening to.

“1997” effortless transitions into my favorite song on the album, “Dough”. On the track Glock exclusively raps about his one and only true love: money. The track is infectious and successfully makes you feel rich yourself. On the chorus we see Glock interpolate the opening lines from Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s 1992 classic, “Nuthin’ But A G Thang,” an ambitious idea that Glock pulls off extremely well.

The third song, “Word On The Street” showcases another one of the album’s strengths, Glock’s selection of beats. This specific BandPlay produced instrumental features what sounds like a pitched down horn playing a looping melodic line throughout the whole song giving the track a 1920s feel well Glock assaults listeners with bars that in contrast to the instrumental, fit perfectly in the 2020 landscape. Key Glock’s selection of unique beats keeps the album interesting and is another thing that makes this project shine brighter than most trap releases.

The seventh song, “Look At They Face” has the most mainstream appeal out of all the tracks on the album due to Glock’s absolutely addicting hook (“Yeah, I heard them niggas hating 'cause I'm up now/I been makin' plays all day, yup, touchdown/I remember them days I used to pray for a bustdown/Now look at they face, look at they face, yeah, they on hush now”). Track like this show that Glock has serious star potential and should alert all fans that he might be in for a massive 2020.

Just as the title suggest, the tenth track “Flyest Highest Coolest Smoothest” flexes some of the best flows on the album as Glock smoothly delivers some of the coolest bars on the tape (“Same lil' nigga, big pistol, in the field blow like a whistle/Dope dealer, go-getter, boy, you just a broke nigga”).

The album ends with “1 of 1” where Glock finally gives us more context about his upbringing, fleshing out his character and allowing us to understand why he’s a cold-hearted, money-hungry, gangsta. The fact that he waited until the last track to tell us about his mother who was incarcerated his entire upbringing or about his troubles in school growing up show that Glock wanted you to be enticed by his artistry before allowing you to fully know who he is, a nice strategy that is consistent with the self-portrait he painted on Yellow Tape.

Overall, Yellow Tape is one of the most exciting trap releases to drop in recent memory. Key Glock successfully finds a way to make music that is the same as a lot of what’s currently being made without sounding stale or boring. Glock is focused on mastering his craft. No gimmicks needed, he’s simply making some of the best trap music out. The bars are hard yet calculated, the beats are unique and kick like crazy, and his voice reeks of authenticity. Do not let this project fly under the radar, Yellow Tape is the best trap release of 2020 so far, maybe the best release period.

Favorite Tracks

Dough

Look At They Face

Flyest Highest Coolest Smoothest

Rating: 8

Listen to Yellow Tape here:

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