Urban Culture Magazine NOV 2018 | Page 14

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Following A Successful Mixtape Run, Moneybagg Yo Drops His Debut Album BY Gary Suarez

Holding court in the back of trendy hip-hop eatery Sweet Chick, Moneybagg Yo doesn't feel like saying much.

Approaching the tail end of a whirlwind New York promotional run for his just-released full-length debut Reset, the Memphis rapper sits more or less quietly, sipping tap water instead of the Courvoisier VSOP on offer--and otherwise imbibed by just about everyone else around him. With a gentlemen's club booking in Queens immediately following this appearance in downtown Manhattan, that's probably the right call. "It's a relief," Moneybagg says, when prompted on how it feels to have dropped his first proper album following a spectacular mixtape run. Recorded over what he recalls as a 2 month period with trap beatmakers like DrumGod and Javar Rockamore, the record comes via NLESS and Bread Gang Entertainment, with fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti's CMG imprint and distributor Interscope as well. Last year's Federal 3x commercial mixtape debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 album charts, leaps and bounds above his prior releases and a clear signal of his surging popularity. Since then, he's logged a trio of chart appearances there, with the Tay Keith helmed Bet On Me peaking at No. 11 this past August. (Keith's 2018 production efforts have yielded a series of Hot 100 hits, namely BlocBoy JB's "Look Alive" and Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode.") Reset marks Moneybagg's third project of the year, with 2 Heartless first appearing back in February and claiming No. 16 on the Billboard 200.

While his mixtapes have consistently charted since 2017, Moneybagg has yet to make his mark on the Hot 100, in contrast with Yo Gotti's 11 showings there. Despite a handful of his tracks reaching Billboard's radio-centered R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, he's less known as a singles artist than for long-playing releases. That said, Reset presents a number of opportunities that could break through, especially given the caliber of its features. Future makes 2 appearances, including on the lead single "Okay," while J. Cole, Kevin Gates and YG also guest. Still, the majority of Reset showcases Moneybagg on his own, and notably without the contributions of other Memphis rappers.

Reset's arrival comes amid one of the busiest release weeks for hip-hop in recent memory, a unique circumstance exacerbated by a streaming era tradition of rappers dropping projects on Halloween. As such, Moneybagg's album is competing in this opening frame with a substantial range of other projects, in particular the likeminded trap records of Metro Boomin's star-studded showcase Not All Heroes Wear Capes and Migos member Takeoff's solo effort The Last Rocket. Still, with the J. Cole feature "Say Na" queued up as the next single, even if Reset doesn't win the admittedly crowded week at Billboard it could conceivably triumph in the subsequent frames. He's planned a handful of radio festivals and select tour dates in the coming weeks, including ones with Yo Gotti and Jeezy, that could help that song's prospects. Either way, with a recording career that dates back to 2012, Moneybagg Yo clearly has the long game in mind.