Artist: DJ Drama/Young DroTitle: Day One (Mixtape)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Alejandro Mojado
DJ Drama and Grand Hustle are back at it again with another scorching mixtape. This time Young Dro is up to bat for the Atlanta based team with a better batting average than the Braves. For this outing, Drama and the self proclaimed “Best thang smoking” have come together to bring us Day One (Gangsta Grillz), a prequel to Young Dro’s upcoming debut. Many people may know Young Dro from his single, “Shoulder Lean”, but this latest mixtape proves there is more to Dro than just a new dance move. As for Drama, what else can be said about this phenom except for right now he represents the energizer bunny of DJs, he just keeps spinning and spinning. He says his new moniker is Mr. Thanksgiving because he is going to make sure everybody eats good and at this rate, you can believe it.
There are several outstanding tracks on Day One but once again it’s difficult to say which is the best. One particular standout is “We Getting Rich” featuring Sunshine of X-taci who shows that Grand Hustle is an equal opportunity employer for a reason. She most definitely holds her own on the key driven track while adding a little sex appeal. Lyrically, Young Dro is a little limited, as the majority of his content is related to cars and how he tricks them out. Honestly, one may not realize how many colors there are that have never been heard of, from Skittle, to fruit punch, to Spider-Man to Chicago Bull sitting on Scottie Pippens. Not to take anything away from Dro who can rip a beat to shreds when he puts his mind to it. He does manage to show some of this lyrical prowess on “Watch Dro Spit” and “What It Is”.
Day One shows us that although T.I. may be the relatively undisputed King of the South, he is not surrounded by a court of jesters. Grand Hustle appears to mean business and they seem to be here to stay. Day One is a solid effort featuring some very hot beats for Dro to spit his work on. Unfortunately, there are several beats that we’ve heard (“Got Ya Girl Sayin…”) before, but that doesn’t take away from the mixtape’s punch.
Truth be told, Day One is just a continuation of the onslaught of music that has been coming out of Atlanta and Grand Hustle. Young Dro aka the last Dro-hican is just another look at a solid team that one can expect to hear much more from over the course of the year. Drama and Dro team up on this installment of Gangsta Grillz to show us “What It Is” in the A-Town and expect to hear this pumping in every Snapple colored Cutlass in the south.
