The struggle is real in this song, as J Cole observes: He comes with some deep, soulful introspection. ‘Jermaine’s Interlude’ continues the hot, intellectual streak of the album. The verses are weaved together with a passionate chorus from Betty Wright. Kendrick matches this with moralising on rotten materialism (Everything I touch may disintegrate into dust/Everything I trust may dishonor me in disgust), his trials rebuilding the hood and the struggles both him and his people continue to deal with. Big Sean bounces off a number of themes in his verse, such as hard work, positivity, health, his Christian faith, and the grim instances of police brutality sweeping America all in one outstanding package. However, I think this particular pairing is actually inspired. Prolific commentator Anthony Fantano has said something to this effect. Som might disparage the combo between these two artists after the ‘Control’ verse controversy, where it is widely regarded that Kendrick Lamar upstaged Sean on his own track. There are ‘major keys’ a plenty on the early tracks, most thoroughly realised on ‘Holy Key’ featuring Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar. This is a short and sweet delivery from Nas here. These are bridged by an awesome hook ‘My signature fade with the Bevel blade/That’s a major key/I told her she smart and loyal, I like that/That’s a major key/Start a label, run it, sign yourself/That’s a major key/What Tony had on the table/It’s like us, we a major key’. In the second verse, he compels his Black sisters to fix up and be smart. On the first verse, he encourages African Americans to support each other and grow their communities in the face of adversity such as institutionalised poverty and unconstructive individualism. Track 3 is delvired by Nas, titled ‘Nas Album Done’. ‘For Free’ is your standard Drake single offering, this time with an intriguing flip on paid-for-sex, bragging about his impressive bedroom performances and how he feels he should deserve payment for the service. Add to that a haywire beat from 808 Mafia and an addictive hook from Future, we have an altogether enjoyable opening song. I’m not a big fan of Jigga, but he comes with a solid verse. Listeners are pummelled straight away with pre release singles ‘I Got the Keys’ featuring Future and Jay Z and ‘For Free’ a solo effort from Drake. Now let’s examine the project in (rough) chronological order. Nowhere can they be found on ‘Fuck Up the Club’, and on ‘Pick These Hoes Apart’ Jeezy advises the listener to ‘love em with your mind and never with your heart.’ However, there a few ‘major keys’ to be grafted from the messages of these songs. That said, the trap heavy beats are booming, especially on ‘Fuck Up the Club’ which serves well as a club anthem. According to Pitchfork, these are the weakest tracks on ‘Major Key’, disparaged by their writer ‘Kris ex’ as “pitched directly at the ignorant, misogynist, and unwoke.” To a degree that’s a correct analysis. Kodak Black’s verse is adolescent and jarring… he is only 19 years old, but his lyrics are incredibly vulgar and disgusting. For me as a listener, they served as ‘gateway drugs’ for the admittedly better cuts on the album. The first tracks I listened to on the project were ‘Fuck Up the Club’ and ‘Pick These Hoes Apart’. This time round, the particular theme is centred on major keys -a term popularised on Khaled’s Snapchat – which constitute choice pearls of wisdom coined by the man himself to help people succeed. These titles provide a thematic vessel for the contributing artists to craft the songs around. Previous examples include the rather hilariously titled ‘Suffering From Success’ of 2013 and his last album ‘I Changed, A Lot’ of 2015. Indeed, Khaled’s manufactured celebrity through popular social media did pay dividends, scoring his first number one album in the Billboard 200 Chart.Īlong with most Khaled albums, there’s meant to be a unifying theme. In the run up to the album’s release, Khaled became a Snap Chat sensation, something that nonetheless helped promote the project in an era of declining album sales. DJ Khaled released his ninth studio album earlier this year to much fanfare.