“There’s a lot of people that want to see that man win,” Lyor Cohen, CEO of 300 Entertainment, said to HipHopDX’s Cherise Johnson, referring to up-and-coming rapper Fetty Wap. “He’s engaging. He’s nice. He’s focused. He’s come to play.”
Fetty Wap secures himself as a bona fide romanticizer with his wobbly vocals and lovey-dovey lyrics on his debut album Fetty Wap. He surely wins over ears with his catchy hooks, but can leave a bad aftertaste with his cheesy lyrics.
Fetty Wap, whose real name is Willie Maxwell, found his way into our heads in 2014 when the world was introduced to his first catchy single, “Trap Queen.” Maxwell’s rocky vocals paired with trap instrumentals are a match made in musical heaven.
“Trap Queen” Music Video
No one expected Maxwell to succeed after “Trap Queen,” so instead of being labeled a one-hit wonder, he established himself as a hitmaker with other tracks “679” and “My Way,” which found itself a remix from the 6 God and former “Wheelchair Jimmy” himself, Drake. Maxwell’s popularity skyrocketed when the almighty and powerful Kanye West, as well as pop heartthrob Ed Sheeran, decided to proclaim their fondness of Willie’s tunes through vocalized co-signs.
Maxwell’s debut album comes closer to a soundtrack for a sappy rom-com rather than an album of a trapper (slang in the South referring to a drug dealer). However, if Maxwell was aiming for originality, then he hit the nail in the coffin. Not many artists are hopeless romantics who “trap” on the side, but after listening to Fetty Wap, Maxwell surely is.
Maxwell makes up for his inane lyrics with his head-bobbing, melodic productions on tracks, such as “D.A.M. (Dats All Me),” “How We Do Things,” “Jugg” and “My Way”.
“Chopper kickin’ we call it Liu Kang baby”, he raps on “How We Do Things.” From listening to Fetty Wap, listeners discover that Maxwell has a tiny infatuation for “Mortal Kombat” video game character, Liu Kang, referencing him throughout the project.
However, mothers across the nation listening to the album will agree that Maxwell is not a fighter, but a lover, with tracks, “Trap Queen,” “679,” “Rewind” and “Again.”
“I go out of my way to please you / I go out of my way to see you / And I want you to be mine again baby / I know my lifestyle is driving you crazy / But, I cannot see myself without you,” Maxwell sings on “Again.”
Listeners will be satisfied when it comes to Maxwell’s amorous singing abilities; however, it’s his rapping abilities that are difficult to come by.
Maxwell raps about stereotypical rap subjects on his project: making money and his “squad.” The production doesn’t do the lyrics justice either; they sound rather mediocre and quite similar. Interestingly enough, the producers on the record aren’t household names, so there is hope for Maxwell to become a superstar in years to come.
1738. These numbers mean nothing to us, but to Maxwell, they are the world, since he’s heard ad-libbing or rapping the four digits throughout the majority of the album. What do they mean exactly? His squad, Remy Boyz 1738, is in the planning stage of becoming its own record label. From the sound of Fetty Wap, 1738 and Maxwell are here to stay.
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