G Herbo - PTSD (Album Review)
G Herbo returns with his fifth studio album titled 'PTSD'. The album's title relates to G Herbo's PTSD of the streets and the things he saw while growing up such as violence and his friends dying. In fact the album cover with the American flag replaces the fifty starts with fifty of his friends that have died which is very sad to see. I feel this theme could have been reinforced more throughout the album but I'm glad to see he did stick to the themes and they were reoccuring throughout. Other than that, some other content G Herbo spits involves flexing his money and other than just the details of his struggles with street life he brags about his position in the streets. The production on this album is fine. It isn't groundbreaking or extremely high quality, but the beats are rarely boring and you can get your head nodding to them as well as seeing a wide range and good mash up of instruments. Herbo's flow is pretty standard as is his lyricism, however he can provoke sympathy and get you thinking when he tells a story due to his decent talent in this aspect of lyricism. Despite this, the way he explains street life is quite generic when compared to other rappers. As usual, I'll finish on mentioning the features G Herbo selected for this album. They mostly turn up on this album and just like the Lil Baby review I did recently the features have chemistry with G Herbo and suit the vibe of the track well.
Into the tracklist then, we get the standard 'Intro' track and this one does a great job at introducing the key themes of the album. The beat's hard and his flow is nice so I have no complaints about this one. 'Glass in the Face' is a bit of a downgrade, and while A Boogie's voice sounds nice the hook isn't exactly a catchy melody which was the issue with his album. The verses are alright - but that's it just alright and I can't imagine coming back too often. G Herbo shows us more of a vulnerable side on the third track titled 'Gangsta's Cry'. He explains to us (in a rather repetitive hook) that it's OK for gangstas to cry and gives examples of times in his life he's cried. It's a nice message & the feature from BJ the Chicago Kid is nice and he speaks on similar topics. The stripped back beat adds to the vulnerable atmosphere and adds more to the track. 'In This Bitch' is just one long verse where G Herbo doesn't say anything interesting. The beat's alright & his rapping isn't bad but it's just tedious and I won't return to it. On 'Death Row' I can't really distinguish between the hook and the verse which tells me straight away the hook is forgettable. Again this track just isn't interesting, the flow stays the same for the verses & the hook and he doesn't say anything gripping. A rare case of a basic beat as well.
Lil Durk partners G Herbo on 'Party in Heaven'. I think Lil Durk is nice but I'm getting a bit bored already of G Herbo. He doesn't do anything different on this track, and in terms of rapping he isn't exactly standing out. I respect the theme of the album but it's got to sound good and be engrossing at the same time. Finally, after a few poor tracks we get to the best song of the album, the title track 'PTSD'. Firstly, we get Juice WRLD's hook which is fire and the melody is just what this album needed to freshen things up. The desperation in Herbo's delivery is well fitted for the theme of the track being these artists having PTSD based off what they've seen growing up. Chance's verse is fire, I enjoy his flow and cadence & he fitted the song perfectly and finally Lil Uzi Vert was a nice edition but could've had a longer input. Overall a great song. We keep some momentum going with the track 'By Any Means' where Herbo shows us a fine verse with a nice flow and some hard lyrics. I always enjoy a 21 Savage feature because of his flow & his distinct voice. I don't care much for what they're saying but it sounds alright. Three in a row I like, now we're talking. 'Gangbangin' has a great guitar based beat where G Herbo spits on the key theme of the album (the whole PTSD thing) with some lyrics that have an impact on you, "Killin' kids (Killin' kids)//How you feelin', know you killin' kids?". The hook is nice and the hurt in his delivery make this a standout track. Polo G hits the melodies perfectly in 'Lawyer Fees' and his melody contrasts well with G Herbo's delivery and it's refreshing to hear a change up in style on these songs. They really talk on PTSD again which I'm glad to see as it's reinforcing the theme. The piano in the beat creates a melancholy atmosphere for the rappers to rap on. A G Herbo line I liked - "How the fuck you sleep? You ain't seein' faces every night".
'Feelings' is another track which is just one verse. The rhyme scheme is simple and the flow gets stale but there is content here. He speaks on being civil with his baby mother for their child's sake and also speaks on past events in life that have had an affect on him. While I don't love this song, I do appreciate what we get. We get a bit more storytelling from G Herbo on the next track 'High Speed' where he details a high speed chase. The guitar based instrumental was nice but Herbo's actual rapping didn't grip me. It's an alright song though. Jacquees joins G Herbo for the more laid back track 'Shooter' and it is yet another highlight. Jacquee's vocals are amazing and the hook is smooth. The verses are alright and not too long from G Herbo - giving us some more replay value on this track. It's also a love song which is a rare song to find on this album - with an R&B style. The finale to this album is 'Intuition' and features both 2PRETTY & Sonta who give us some nice vocals. The spoken word parts of this song speak asbolute facts, such as "Not pointin' a finger at nobody but myself//For not takin' control of my destiny//I see people all around the world sayin' what they wanna be//Askin' why they ain't there yet". It's a shame the verses don't live up to this aspect of the long. The saxophone in the background gives the tracks a kind of blues feel which is also a nice aspect. It's a decent ending to the album I just wish the verses were once again more interesting.
To conclude this album, it's simply not great but not bad either. It has some highlights, but G Herbo himself is a bit generic. The second half of this album (final seven songs) is fine and probably would get a great score if he released just that - it's the first half that really drags this album down based off how boring and repetitive it is.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Intro, Gangsta's Cry, PTSD, By Any Means, Gangbangin, Lawyer Fees, Shooter
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: In This Bitch
OVERALL RATING: Weak 6.5/10