Heroes & Villains

About

For as good as he is at making singles (“Bad and Boujee,” “Mask Off,” Post Malone’s “Congratulation,” and The Weeknd’s “Heartless”), Metro Boomin also knows how to put together an album. 21 Savage’s <i>Savage Mode</i> and <i>SAVAGE MODE II</i>, the Savage and Offset project <i>Without Warning</i>, 2018’s <i>NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES</i> and its sequel—and the second installment in a planned trilogy—<i>HEROES & VILLAINS</i>: They’re all proof that rap in long form is still as dynamic as its bite-sized counterpart. “I didn't want to be doing those things where it's like, 'Okay, I just called every artist on my phone,' or 'Let me just show you and flex everybody I could get on the song,'” he tells Apple Music. “It’s like a movie, you know what I’m saying? Maybe in this scene we got these two character, and you might not see this character until two scenes later. And now he’s in here with this guy again. And now all three of them are together. Just mixing up the bag.” Easy enough, or at least sounds it. But the shape of <i>HEROES & VILLAINS</i> is a seductive and addictive thing, flowing from punishing to reflective and sleek to classic-sounding with a grace that feels both commanding and natural. And the “characters” he alludes to aren’t just some of the most iconic voices in modern rap, they’re juxtaposed in ways that bring out their essences: the boom of Future (“Superhero”) and deadpan menace of 21 Savage (“Walk Em Down”), the alien croon of Don Toliver (“Too Many Nights”) and the mania of Young Thug (“Metro Spider”). “I mean, no one can really say or guess what's in Thug's head,” Metro say. “He's one in a trillion, man.” .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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