Rapper pushes a lick of pop onto his debut album.
VERDICT:
Lil’ Nas X has caused a roar of late piercing through magazine print and site pages to base himself within the music scene. Now, X releases his debut album ‘Montero’ etching his name across blogs, social media and news sites with tremendous hype.
‘Montero’ throws a lot back to early ‘00s Hip-Hop with a hint of R&B, though make no mistake, this is not a Hip-Hop album as detailed by the artist himself. There are hints of ‘The Love Below’ half of the Outkast album. But hints are where it finishes.
Progressing through the album, LNX’s genre classification remains true and ensures there is no miss-selling of the project. Though it people pleases rather than touches the epidermis of new layers as heard on ‘That’s what I Want’ and ‘Scoop’ featuring Doja Cat.
As we move onto ‘One of me’ featuring Elton John, Lil’ Nas X comes across more sincere where he lists frustrations he has met coming up in the music scene. ‘Life After Salem’ summons attempts at a ballad with incredible guitar riffs and snare play, though, LNX cannot match it and largely sounds off-key.
If the artist is of little interest to you, most songs will fall by the wayside. A good album should prompt listeners to take note of the artist which is something this project fails to do. ‘Montero’ stays consistent but lacks originality in production alongside a vocalist who serves up an effort that largely mirrors much of his contemporaries.
Stanisland Magazine 