Even Griselda’s Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, and Boldy James (another fellow Detroiter) lend their talents here Loaf’s debut. Major guests come through, from new school favorites Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna, and 6lack, to fellow Detroit natives Big Sean and Sada Baby. If anything, it’s shockingly silky, boasting beats so fine-tuned they glide right along with Loaf’s combination of blunt raps and smooth singing.
She’s put in enough work, been far patient enough, to have more than earned this moment.įor those fearing the fate that often befalls those who wait too long (“that’s how Ma$e screwed up!”), Sell Sole II is no minor affair, and DeJ certainly did not take all this time to go out with a muted whimper. So, indeed, forgive her dismissal of her detractors. But we were left to wonder: why hadn’t she dropped already?Īll that wondering was finally put to rest when she dropped her debut, a sequel to her breakthrough 2014 mixtape, almost casually, out of nowhere. To be fair, she never truly went away, peppering listeners with EPs over the years, as well as linking up with Jacquees for a full-length tape. The relationship wound down, and so did her career-at least it seemed that way. Then she linked up, romantically and sonically, with Lil Durk, leading to “My Beyoncé” in 2015 (it also appeared on his album Lil Durk 2X in 2016), and it seemed she had received her second shot at genuine stardom. Surely, the album was right around the corner? Nearly a year passed-nothing. and Jeezy hopped on the remix to her hit, and she even provided the hook for Eminem and co’s regional firestarter, “Detroit vs.
With her whiplash flow and an uncanny knack for confrontational earworm hooks, she provided a smash hit not just for herself, but for several artists she associated with. When “Try Me” arrived in 2014, it seemed anything was possible for the rapper and singer. But here we are, near the end of 2020, finally having received the Detroit multi-talent’s debut album. It remains a bit of a mystery, at least to this writer, just as to why it’s taken so long. It may sound a tad defensive to the uninitiated, but her perspective is more than understandable. “Anybody sleepin’ on me can stay in the bed,” DeJ Loaf snipes on “Obvious”, which comes near the midpoint of her new album, Sell Sole II.