RESPECT. Review: Dreezy's 'No Hard Feelings' - Way More Than That Single - RESPECT.

The greatest music– I have always believed– is from the artist that come out of nowhere and surprise us. I had one of these moments recently. I was scrolling through my “New Music” on the Apple Music page and my eye was caught by Chicago Rapper Dreezy‘s album cover for No Hard Feelings. Now my experience of listening to Dreezy is only from her chart soaring single “Body” featuring Jeremih.

Tonight at midnight??? pic.twitter.com/2BF7V2kFzH

— Dreezy (@dreezydreezy) July 14, 2016

This track is a poppy generic radio single that fits the mold for a female emcee’s first single. Even though the song itself is the reason I heard of Dreezy in the first place, it’s the kind of track that usually doesn’t draw me into another artist. However, being that Dreezy has been starting to gather some buzz recently, I thought I would check out her debut album No Hard Feelings.

Right of the bat, Dreezy proves to be ahead of the game, conceptual than most artist her age. The album has a narrative, a girl finds about her man cheating and proceeds to find someone else. No Hard Feelings boast 19 tracks and four features, so expect to hear a ton of the Chicago emcee. For the most part, that statement is a plus. From the start of the album “We Gon Ride,” Dreezy show off her impressive lyricism and infectious flow. This record even boasts a nice verse from the Trap God himself, Gucci Mane.

With bars like,”I just want me and my bitches in a foreign back to back/Used to post up at the trap and now we got a P to match/Pull up with my hypeman, but he don’t rap, he just strapped,” it really made me think I’m going to enjoy whatever this chick is rapping about. In an age of rappers (or rockstars) like Lil Uzi Vert, it is refreshing to hear younger cats (especially females) have BARS!

This trend continues on the next record on the LP, “Spazz,” which is one of my favorite moments on this project. Dreezy just flexes here flow all over this beat. She brags about Spending a feature on some Balenciagas and still having money to blow. It’s a track that really shows Dreezy potential in the industry.

The next trio of songs on the LP goes into a more melodic approach. “Body,” “Wasted” and “Afford my Love,” all show that Dreezy can stay relevant with her peers. Each track has a contemporary R&B production style and Dreezy shows off her vocal range. “Wasted” has a strong hook and “Afford my Love” features an excellent verse from DC native, Wale. Even though I don’t really care for “Body” I cannot deny that that record has been huge for Dreezy’s career. The record currently sits at #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Don’t Know Me” and “Bad Bitch” have some of the best production on the LP. “Don’t Know Me” instrumental sounds like something Kanye West might have put on “Graduation.” While “Bad Bitch” is a menacing beat that sounds little like early 2000’s Lil Wayne. Dreezy comes correct with the lyrics as well ” I took a break from all the hype to let you bitches get practice/They want me to give my seat up like I’m Angela Bassett”. It is tracks like these and the single “Close to You,” featuring nappy boy T-Pain, where I come away really impressed by Dreezy’s talent.

However, at the tail end of the LP the record hits a lull. Tracks like “Ready” and “Break the News” could have been better served being left off the album. Not that I think the tracks are terrible, they just don’t flow well with the rest of the album. Especially “Break the News,” that record didn’t make much sense at all within the “story” of the album. Even more so when you consider that Dreezy’s ex just shot her new Man in the interlude before.

Even with these hick-ups, No Hard Feelings is a solid debut that deserves a listen.

Listen to No Hard Feelings here.

For more news on Dreezy, keep it locked on RESPECT.