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Rising to the top of the pyramid of rap producers, St. Louis’ Metro Boomin has released his first solo album since 2018, further cementing himself as one of the most respected people in rap.

His last solo album, “NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES,” swept through the hip-hop industry with Metro creating a project with the game’s biggest names and some of his most unique beats to date. Now an RIAA Platinum album, tracks such as “Don’t Come Out The House,” “10 Freaky Girls” and “Space Cadet” have transformed into mega hits, staples to 2010s trap.

On Dec. 2, Metro released his second solo project, “HEROES & VILLAINS,” a follow-up to his 2018 success, and a glimpse into how the producer is more than that, showcasing his skills in turning his album into a feature film.

Having produced Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” “Mask Off” by Future and countless other chart toppers, Metro Boomin has taken his love for making beats and transformed it into original music for his own discography. “HEROES & VILLAINS” demonstrates that the time he’s spent around music’s creative geniuses has inflated him not only as an artist, but also a storyteller.

Rollout and Overview

Announcing the project through a fiery, menacing mini-movie in September, the rollout for “HEROES & VILLAINS” did not include any pre-album singles, but rather cinematic components and visualizers aided by snippets.

A week before the release, Metro announced the short film for his album, including appearances from YSL’s centerpieces Young Thug and Gunna as well as Morgan Freeman and LaKeith Stanfield as actors for the Gibson Hazard production.

While previewing songs in the short film, we see Metro serve as the hero of a city run amok with villains, as LaKeith Stanfield’s character incinerates the city in the beginning portions. Freeman serves as Metro Boomin’s mentor, and also a narrator on the album making sure people know that “if Young Metro don’t trust you, motherf*cker you better run.”

Features were rolled out on comic book covers the day of the album release, making people guess if they would serve as a hero or a villain. In one of the more creative rollouts rap has seen, Metro wanted to display his work beyond music, an aspect that a lot of hip-hop often fails to display.

The 15 track “HEROES & VILLAINS” holds features from major figures in rap. Travis Scott, 21 Savage, A$AP Rocky, Future and Young Thug highlight a stacked tracklist, just like “NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES.”

Not only are rappers included, but stars in other genres John Legend, Chris Brown and Mustafa make up portions of Metro’s most experienced piece of work.

Standout Tracks

The first song, “On Time” features John Legend as an introduction, narration from Morgan Freeman and A$AP Rocky and a speech from Anthony Starr at the conclusion. Starr derived his speech from his role as Homelander on the series “The Boys.”

A smooth transition sets up Future for one of his best recent verses on track two titled “Superhero (Heroes & Villains),” a snippet that originally surfaced on Soundcloud brought out of the vault by Metro. Future’s brutal lines send bullets at those in his way, stating “piss on your casket, shoot at your broad. Do somethin’ nasty, roll you in a ‘gar,” referring to rolling his enemy in a cigar and smoking them once he’s finished.

Transitioning to the third song, “Too Many Nights” has Don Toliver as the focal point, delivering one of his best performances yet as an artist. Toliver slides over Metro’s transcending, static beat, giving off a euphoric feeling.

Toliver clearly expands the toxic tone that Future set in “Superhero (Heroes & Villains).” The chorus notes “you spend what you want and you get what you want, I guess you got what you wanted,” as Toliver lists the possibility of a past lover who didn’t think he was enough, leaving him with a free-for-all and ultimately getting what he wants.

Skipping to track five, 21 Savage and Young Nudy go bar-for-bar on “Umbrella” with Metro setting up a dark beat that could’ve been pulled from his 2016 project “Savage Mode.” Nudy and 21 Savage, who are cousins, collaborate on another piece surrounding violence experienced in Atlanta and how Nudy became a featured artist in the A, with lines like “put your name on the bullets while I’m filling them,” going in on their zero hesitation towards rivals.

Young Thug receives a solo appearance with “Metro Spider,” but it’s the transition into the “I Can’t Save You” interlude where Metro’s production expertise sticks out.

The sudden beat shift slides in following Young Thug’s ad lib at the conclusion of the track, immediately introducing the Future and Don Toliver interlude. “Metro Spider” and “I Can’t Save You” act as one large song, just like the introduction into “Superhero (Heroes & Villains).”

Spinning off of Mario Winan’s 2004 hit “I Don’t Wanna Know,” The Weeknd produces a revamped cover on “Creepin’’” with 21 Savage. This song is a creative, R&B sample flip for Metro Boomin that touches on failed love and cheating, thus a fitting track for The Weeknd to be featured on.

Metro Boomin gives us the first posthumous song from Takeoff since his sudden passing this past November, including him on “Feel The Fiyaaaah” with A$AP Rocky.

Over the gospel serenading instrumental, Takeoff lays down the alphabet in his verse, utilizing letters to go down from A. He starts with “like the letter after A, I bought my b*tch a new C, Then I took her to the D, said she wanna take an E,” and continued through the entirety of the alphabet except for a few toward the end.

Final Thoughts

In his second solo installment, Metro Boomin hones in on his artistic abilities outside of music, while also producing some of his most sinister, clean beats to date. He has also dropped a “Heroes Version” of the album which includes the instrumentals on top of the original tracks.

“HEROES & VILLAINS” currently holds 9 of the top 10 songs on the Apple Music charts, while also expected to sell approximately 150,000 units its first week, most likely primed for his third number one Billboard 200 debut.

Metro has hinted that “HEROES & VILLAINS” and “NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES” will be the part of a trilogy, but for the time being fans will hold onto the second chapter of Metro Boomin’s catalog.

Published on December 6, 2022 at 10:13 pm