Rich The Kid & YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Nobody Safe (Album Review)
Good friends and big rappers Rich The Kid and YoungBoy Never Broke Again have joined forces for a new album titled 'Nobody Safe'. Now - I'm not a big fan of either of these - but based off the 'Bankroll' single I had some hope, and I know both artists can actually make good songs - it was just a question of whether they were going to try here or make another uninspired, unneeded trap album in this saturated landscape.
Let's start with the positives, there are some genuinely good trap beats on here, such as on 'Bankroll' which is this banging trap beat with this warm and transparent synth line as they talk about their masses of fortune (albeit with some basic lines). It has a good beat, the melodies of the hook from the pair are great as well and YoungBoy’s harmonising on here is entertaining as is even Rich The Kid’s verse. However, most of these are bland and uninspired instrumentals, as on 'Can't Let The World In' which isn't too bland just very generic as again they're flexing their money and shooting their opps. Finally it's the last track, and again it’s so uneventful and uninteresting as a song with weak 808s and a boring, repetitive vocal performance from the rappers. The issue is the 808s don't bang and a trap beat without good 808s is almost worthless - leaving the production boring. These kind of artists need good production to thrive off, so it’s never a good start if the instrumentals on here are subpar – but the production does pickup towards the back-end. 'You Bad' is just another example of a bland trap beat with these flutes and whiny keys as the pair flaunt their wealth and assets. It’s somehow more boring than the first two songs, I can’t even say anything because it’s so passable and has literally nothing attractive about it.
Both aren’t good lyricists at all, YoungBoy is slightly better because he’s basic whereas Rich The Kid is just bad at times, as on 'Brown Hair', "Bad bitch like Aquafina // Send the jet for shawty 'cause I need her // Got the real water, goin' deeper // Bought the bitch a Bentley, she a keeper (Skrrt)" (I mean it's just nursery rhyme stuff at this point), as the tracks all about spending time with this girl the rappers are getting kinda close to over these relaxed strings and trap elements which is a cold beat but pretty bland. This is more like the first half, incredibly boring and just exists with no purpose to. I’d be lying though if I didn’t say they both had their moments with punchlines and bars so corny that they’re funny, such as Rich The Kid on 'Nobody Safe', "Wack her husband like Carole Baskin", as the tracks again see's them flexing their wealth and shooting at their opps over these glossy piano keys and soothing synths over this trap beat - it’s quite uneventful though. It's actually one of the most forgettable openers of the year, it was so void of anything interesting. 'Rings On' is proof the pair don't need good lyrics to make a banger as both come across very bland and basic lyrically over this melancholy piano with the rest of this beat being warm - it’s a nice beat. The track is about spoiling their girls with expensive jewelry and what a banger - the melody of the hook from YoungBoy is gorgeous, the verses are fine as well as this beat - it's best on here easily. YoungBoy's flow is fine and quite enjoyable sporadically which contrats horribly with Rich The Kid's boring, simplistic flow. YoungBoy's delivery is more smooth and doesn’t sound as forced aggressive as on 'Top', whereas Rich The Kid’s crispy auto-tune hasn’t changed but I still find it quite enjoyable as a delivery style.
There’s only 3 features on here, and 2 of them are good and steal the show, such as Quando Rondo on 'Took A Risk' where despite being mixed slightly his fast paced, nonstop flow is fire and the highlight of the track about flexing their wealth, cars and jewelry. It has a more interesting beat with these strings and 808s which boom more - it's still decent at best though, I think the rest of the track is a bit underwhelming after the last 2 tracks, it’s a shame but it isn’t the worst on here or close to it but I don’t like it - the feature pushes it a level above the ‘bad’ songs on here though. Surprisingly it was Lil Wayne who disappointed on 'Body Bag' as he sounds uninspired despite some great and funny punchlines, "I spin the block, leave his body stretched out looking like 6 o'clock". The simplistic piano and synth key beat is fine as the track talks all about leaving their opps in a body bag as YoungBoy actually spits some mean bars, "Been that way since I was a child, I ain't showing tires, they ain't know how I feel // I'll step on a n**** ass, nigga make me mad, don't stop until he killed // My mama know I'm thugging, it get ugly, lay me in Winnfield, oh yeah". Yeah, it’s still not good – it's more eventful than the boring ones but still really forgettable despite some nice lines from the rappers – YoungBoy’s forced hard delivery again is off-putting. They all came at the end so I was already kind of bored of the album at this point, but they added to the tracks they're on for the most part. 'Sorry Momma' has a Rod Wave as he slides over this beat - again another feature who steals the show with his melodic flow and some really hard hitting lines too, "Remember Brock brought me to his block and let me serve // He told me leave from 'round this bitch and go and shock the world // I came home from off a tour, he was dead on the curb". The guitar based melancholy beat doesn’t do much for me but YoungBoy’s melodies are nice and he really puts emotion in his delivery. Rich The Kid however is just so passable on this track but Rod was good and while I don’t think it’s ‘good’ per se - it’s an OK song.
It had all the content you expected – flexing, guns, jewelry and cars, shown on songs like 'No Flash' where Rich The Kid atually provides some decent metaphors, "My diamonds, they shine in the dark, no need for a flashlight (Need for a flashlight)", over this flute based trap beat which again is uninteresting. It's another boring, forgettable song – especially Rich The Kid’s verse because his flow was just so stagnant, simple and repetitive. Of course sex is also a common theme on here, as on the appropriately named 'Sex' which has these glossy keys but again the trap elements are just so uninvolved and bland which makes the whole beat boring. The hook is laughably bad, "She just wanna have sex, sex (Sex), I just want the neck, neck (Neck) // Heard you cuffing on her, she be fucking for a check, check (For a check, check) // Pop a X pill, that pussy wet, wet, wet, wet", like this isn’t even boring it’s just bad at this point I don’t really see how anyone could like this. The content is uninteresting, there's nothing unique about it and it gets tiring hearing about the same things over and over again. 'Doors Up' is about pulling up outside a club, flexing money and putting lead in the opps over another incredibly generic and boring beat. YoungBoy is eh on here while Rich The Kid is just basic, and again it's bland, generic, boring and forgettable – the first half of this album really only has one good song – there isn’t even any mid or OK songs the rest are just bad.
Other tracks to look at include 'Automatic' which has this boring piano based beat as they talk on automatic cars, money and YoungBoy talks about shooting at his opps. YoungBoy actually has a nice rhyme scheme and some hard bars, "From the front of the yard, I could dot a n**** // From the top of the bleed, I could spot a n**** // You know that I'm on it, you know that I'm holdin' it // Ain't no way, and if you play, I'ma pop a n****", but the hook is horrible, it sounds like YoungBoy isn’t even awake – this song is 2 minutes and such a drag to get through. Rich The Kid’s verse is slightly better than YoungBoy’s sound wise and that isn’t even a compliment. 'So Sorry' has another bland trap beat and is all about spending money in appropriate and smart places as Rich The Kid drops some decent lines surprisingly, "Ain't buyin' no more chains, I'm buyin' real estate (I'm buyin' real estate) // Don't need no more friends, 'cause your intentions fake (You're really fake)". Once again it's so boring and forgettable and there's literally nothing to praise. Finally, 'Woke Up' has these eerie keys over this trap beat which sounds good it's a rare good beat on here as they're flexing their jewelry and cars and claiming people can’t floss like them as well as shooting at oops. The beat’s better and I don’t love the song but the flows are nice and I can safely say it’s a good song with a catchy hook.
To conclude, it's a pretty bad album and i don't know why it exists but there are bangers on here - but only with good production and that's what's mainly missing here. Both Rich The Kid and YoungBoy demonstrate chemistry, but as two uninteresting rappers in the current landscape of things it wasn't going to be great. There's a few good songs, but the large majority are bad and below average with weak performances and uninteresting content - not a good album at all. To put it simply, we didn’t need this, and I had hoped after the 'Bankroll' single it would've been good but I’m disappointed. It's genuinely painful to sit through the first half, the second half picks up but it’s still not good.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Bankroll, Woke Up, Rings On
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Sex
OVERALL RATING: Solid 2.5/10