Tipped as Manchester’s most prized rap frontrunner a few years back, Meekz has more than lived up to expectations. Now sitting amongst the crème de la crème of the UK rap scene, his newest offering follows up to his Top 40 charting debut project ‘Can’t Stop Won’t Stop’.
With every track in his catalogue receiving more than one million streams, his glossy lyricism and uncategorised style position him in a lane like no other. His ‘Respect The Come Up’ mixtape is the next step in a promising journey. Meekz marked his return with the release of a fiercely anticipated Daily Duppy as well as the release of the mixtape’s intro track ‘Say Less’.
‘Say Less’ honours the traditional rap intro, and sets the pace for the 10-track instalment. Straight-talking with the upmost confidence, he raps about “settling levels with it…”
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Title track ‘Respect The Come Up’ speaks on his journey up to this point, showcasing the introspective rap that Meekz does so well.
‘Fresh Out The Bank’ is the first feature track, with Dave guesting. It’s a full circle moment, in a way, with Meekz having appeared alongside Dave for a monumental BRIT Award performance of ‘In The Fire’ earlier this year. The pair’s slick bars bouncing off each other well, Meekz employing a playful flow and flexing his hook-writing flair.
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The project follows this up with a rare Central Cee feature; ‘Don’t Like Drill’ is snappy, oozing conviction from both artists, while also nodding to Meekz’ keenness to not be squashed into the ‘drill artist’ box. Melodic drop ‘More Money’ follows, its anthemic nature perfectly sitting halfway through the tape.
The Gorton talent combines braggadocio bars with motivational stints throughout the record. Songs like ‘Patience’ and ‘Take Losses’ have an inspirational effect, the latter kicking off with words of wisdom from Manchester-bred champ Tyson Fury. ‘Hustlers Ambition’ gives off a similar vibe, the Chucks produced instrumental embroiled with nostalgic sax heavy tones.
The project closes out with ‘Killin Off’ and ‘Instagram Captions’; ‘Instagram Caption’ is a buoyant outro that signs off the project on a high.
‘Respect The Come Up’ does well to depict Meekz prowess, framed with top tier production from Chucks, M1, Clonez, Honeywoodsix and more. Despite the mixtape’s short and sweet nature, it feels as though it was crafted with intent, down to the detail shown on the cover art where we see Meekz throughout his come up. An elusive MC, his quality over quantity approach is impressive – this mixtape offers further proof of why Meekz is one of the new school’s most exciting artists.
8/10
Words: Shanté Collier-McDermott
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