A Review of Tekashi 6ix9ine's "DUMMY BOY"

HOLLUP, LET ME GET IT STARTED, the self proclaimed "King of New York" Tekashi 6ix9ine looks to remain perfect on Billboard with his second release of 2018 and debut album "DUMMY BOY." The success of his first project titled "Day69" which dropped in late February has propelled 6ix9ine to be one of the most popular rappers on 2018. 6ix9ine's famous ability to create a turn up atmosphere with his yelling and tough talk lyrics on his songs has launched him to where he's at right now. Of course, with the help of his social media trolling where he finds himself at odds with multiple rappers has played a part in his rise to stardom as well. However, this trolling has also brought the attention of the authorities which has unfortunately led to 6ix9ine's arrest on multiple occasions, most recently by the Feds where he was arrested the Monday before "DUMMY BOY" was scheduled to drop. 6ix9ine now sits in custody where he has been charged with some serious crimes. This was the reason why the album was pushed back, however leaks forced 6ix9ine to release the album officially on November 27, 2018. This is a perfect segway to take a look at the track list for "DUMMY BOY." This album consists of thirteen tracks with twelve of the thirteen songs having a feature. "STOOPID" featuring Bobby Shmurda, "FEFE" featuring Nicki Minaj and Murda Beatz, "BEBE" featuring Anuel Aa and "TATI" featuring DJ SpinKing are four of the songs on the project have already been released serve as singles for this project. Bobby Shmurda, Nicki Minaj, Murda Beatz, Lil Baby, Tory Lanez, Kanye West, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Anuel Aa, Gunna, DJ SpinKing, and TrifeDrew make up the eleven featured artists on this project. Now let's get into the review without further ado! 👂🏾

Scale

Per song
+.5 for beat selection
+.5 for flow
+.5 for content/impact
+.5 for hit value

Points will be taken off for:
Fatigue in listening
Lack of diversity in beats

Raw Score: The amount of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.

Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.

Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.

Review 👂🏾

STOOPID (ft. Bobby Shmurda)
One of the stand out singles out of the four 6ix9ine has already released. This Tay Keith beat features the standard Tay Keith drums found in songs like "Shoot" by BlocBoy and "Nonstop" by Drake. Added to the beat is a lagging heavy bass that changes intensity and piano keys. The part of this song that stands out to me is how similar the first half of 6ix9ine's first verse is to Chief Keef's "Faneto." When 6ix9ine raps,
"Shoutout my apes in the fuckin' zoo (Filayo)
Filayo, they gon' shoot
Spin a hoop, who the fuck is you?
Who the fuck you know, nigga? No, nigga
Niggas killed your cousin, you want smoke, nigga? (Stupid)
Glo nigga, rollin' up your cousin in a blunt, nigga"
it sounds similar to Chief Keed rapping,
"I'm a gorilla in a fuckin' coupe, finna pull up to the zoo, nigga
Who nigga? who the fuck is you? I don't know, nigga
No, nigga, pull up on yo block, we gon' blow, nigga
Go, nigga, run, nigga, run for the po', nigga (police nigga)"
This is no coincidence as 6ix9ine and Chief Keef have been at odds recently which 6ix9ine doesn't hide with the second half of his verse directed at Chief Keef when 6ix9ine raps,
"Damn, homie, in high school you was the man, homie (2012)
What the fuck happened to you? (Stupid)
I'm just sayin', homie"
In this part of his verse, 6ix9ine references 2012 as the year Chief Keef made his initial impact on Hip-Hop with songs like "Love Sosa" and "I Don't Like" featuring Lil Reese. This song is obviously a sub at Chief Keef. The Bobby Shmurda verse is a welcome one as the "Hot Nigga" rapper is still locked up. Overall, a quality hit song from 6ix9ine.
+1.5

FEFE (ft. Nicki Minaj & Murda Beatz)
This Murda Beatz composition has a concise bass and high hat mix. On this song 6ix9ine doesn't yell, it's a change of pace (personally unwelcomed) from the yelling 6ix9ine songs that got him on the radar. The song ends with Nicki Minaj of course singing the hook which she has made a habit over her career. I don't like this song at all. This song goes against everything that made 6ix9ine hot, which could be a good thing because it shows him trying to grow as an artist. However, for me personally, this ain't it.
+.5

TIC TOC (ft. Lil Baby)
The first original song on this album produced by Yung Lan and Felipe S starts of with an acoustic guitar. The high hats and bass add to a calm atmosphere where 6ix9ine and Lil Baby can sing. This song has some good qualities to it, the cadences used and the flow work well with the beat. However, this song sounds more like it's in the "FEFE" lane which buffers my previous point about 6ix9ine trying to grow.
+1

KIKA (ft. Tory Lanez)
This steal pan beat made by Scott Storch starts off with Tory Lanez singing over the beat before the other instrumentals come in. 6ix9ine comes in with the bass with his yelling cadence which works well with the soft beat. There's many nuggets here in this song, firstly when 6ix9ine raps,
"I do my own shit, I don't need 50 niggas to roll with
Folk shit, I'm on my doley, I'm on my boss shit
I do my own shit, fuck all them niggas I used to roll with
I know you used to see me with niggas, but that's that old shit"
he's referencing his firing of everybody on his team about a week or two before this project's release. Also in the outro when Tory Lanez is about say "it's fuckin Treyway," then switches Treyway to other words that start with the letter "T" he's referencing the fact that 6ix9ine legally can't say "Treyway" anymore.
+1

MAMA (ft. Kanye West & Nicki Minaj)
6ix9ine shares this Murda and Sool Got Hits beat with Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. Flutes, high hats and a bass that hits in a structured pattern come together to make up this beat. 6ix9ine uses the cadence he uses on "FEFE" before Kanye West comes in with his bridge which is tiring. Kanye should have consulted the rule of three on this bridge because after the third "oh my god" line I was over the bridge. While I have my gripes with the bridge, the Kanye verse is a solid one. However, the song gets a bit louder when Nicki Minaj comes on it using effects with here voice and changing her cadence with the effects. The verses on this song are solid however, the Kanye and Nicki bridges ruin the song for me.
+ .5

WAKA (ft. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie)
This Scott Storch, Avedon collab on the beat has a fast paced violin starts off with A Boogie's first verse. The high hats and bass come in on the A Boogie hook and runs through the 6ix9ine first verse. I like the way 6ix9ine and A Boogie trade lines.
+1

BEBE (ft. Anuel Aa)
The third single on this album produced by Ronny J. This song is a reggaeton song with the structured bass and high pitched percussion instruments. The whole song is in spanish which can add to the authenticity of this reggaeton song made by 6ix9ine.
+1

MALA (ft. Anuel Aa)
Adding to the trend of songs in all spanish, 6ix9ine places this song after his spanish single "BEBE" also featuring Anuel Aa. Ovy On The Drums produces this reggaton beat with a clear steal pan, and structured bass. This song also works to sound like an authentic reggaeton song.
+1

KANGA (ft. Kanye West)
This Murda Beatz beat sounds like a video game with a bass and clap instrumental. This gives the song a similar vibe to the song "I Love It" by Kanye West & Lil Pump. This is a catchy hook and first verse. The second verse is interesting as Kanye and 6ix9ine trade lines at one point dissing Ebro from "Ebro In The Morning" on Hot97 with Kanye rapping,
"Who the fuck gon' listen to Ebro? (Ebro)
All these niggas so emo"
followed by 6ix9ine rapping,
"Fuck that nigga, I'm the mothafuckin' shit
Another old nigga on a young nigga dick"
To end the verse 6ix9ine attempts to say "it's Treyway" however he's stopped by someone in the booth reminding him he can't say it anymore.
+1

FEEFA (ft. Gunna)
This Michael Mora beat starts with the strumming of an acoustic guitar before the bass and high hats come in. 6ix9ine uses a new cadence on this song that can be described as a soft singing voice. This works well with the acoustic guitar along as with Gunna's second verse. This song points to another attempt of 6ix9ine trying to grow as an artist.
+1

TATI (ft. DJ SpinKing)
The last of the singles for this album. Produced by DJ SpinKing, Cubeatz & Boi-1da consists of fast high hats, and a heavy bass. 6ix9ine goes back to his yelling cadence which works to give the song the momentum needed for it to be the hit that it is.
+1.5

WONDO
The lone song with no features on this album produced by Scott Storch. The song starts with a fast high hat before the heavy fast bass comes in. The bass changes in intensity as the song continues to develop. 6ix9ine comes in with his yelling cadence which again works to create the momentum for the song which ends with TrifeDrew yelling,
"DVDs, porno tapes
DVDs, porno tapes
DVDs, porno tapes
Do you beat your meat to a porno tape? Ayy"
A weird way to end a song, however this is the quality trolling you expect from anything with 6ix9ine.
+1.5

DUMMY (ft. TrifeDrew)
The last song on this album produced by Take a Daytrip. On this song TrifeDrew uses autotune on this slow bass driven beat. 6ix9ine comes in on the second verse using the soft cadence he used on "FEFE" before his voice is autotuned towards the end of the song.
+1

Tekashi 6ix9ine's "DUMMY BOY"

Raw Score: 11/13
Quality Score: 13.5/13
Playback Value: 2/5

6ix9ine's "DUMMY BOY" doesn't hold a candle to his debut mixtape "Day69." In the grand scheme of Hip-Hop this album is simply just average. There was a lot of experimenting which is something that is very uncommon for a debut album. This album doesn't flow at all with all the experimenting with beat selection and cadences. On this album 6ix9ine doesn't have much of an identity which is noticeable by the amount the vibe switches from song to song. However, with these different beats, 6ix9ine's talent and growing versatility shines. 6ix9ine did a great job of keeping his presence felt on an album where 12 of the 13 songs had a feature on it. My three standout songs from this album are, "KIKA" featuring Tory Lanez "MALA" featuring Anuel Aa and "WONDO." Go stream Tekashi 6ix9ine's "DUMMY BOY" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OLDMLK.com on Instagram @OLDMLK and let us know what you think of the album!