Artist: M1 Muzik
Album: Open Mind Guntrol
Articulation: Courtney Cosby
Open Mind Guntrol by M 1 Muzik is a solid album, once I made it through all ten tracks and could get a smooth grasp on the feeling the project conveyed. I was a little annoyed in the beginning by the sound and aggressiveness of M 1’s voice, his tone can be a little jarring to a first time listener. I found that the songs won me over and I eventually got used to it. M 1 has a few industry features including Don Trip, whom he sounds quite similar to and mentions that in “Too Many X’s”. He says, “Already had hits, they said I be sounding like Trip, so then it dawned on me, ima go and do one with Trip.” This was clever, both in rhyme and in business strategy. M 1’s content consists of doing whatever is necessary to protect himself from harm and danger, even if that means risking his freedom. He lets us know that he’s been shot in the past so he stays strapped at all times. “Rather be caught with than without it,” I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying before! Convicted felons are prohibited from carrying guns but a lot of them still do for protection, which is much needed in today’s society where random shootings occur often. The subject matter throughout matches the album title and stays on track perfectly. The continous theme was very much welcome.
“Addiction” is the last song and is the standout song of the album because M 1 is telling a deep story over a laid back, jazzy sounding beat. The song begins and ends with a clip from a movie where a man is talking about how abusing drugs ruined his life. The story is about a young man who started selling drugs to help his mother with the bills, then starts popping pills and drinking syrup to help with the pain and stress, which leads to him robbing people and now he snorts pills, but finally ends up overdosing on heroin. I was so impressed with the song that I listened to it three times in a row!
“Shoota” is another song that I enjoyed. M 1 switched up it up and had a melodic flow on this track. “She said she only f*ck wit shootas,” is how the chorus goes and is very catchy. “Same Energy” featuring DJ Bigga Rankin, Starlito, Smoketown Knave & DJ Juiceman is a banger as well. The beat’s hard and they all killed their verses. “Twenty deep or solo, I keep the same energy, seen some friends turn to enemies, n*ggas dying over pennies,” is a dope chorus that you can’t help but to feel to the fullest. Overall I liked the vast majority of the album. M 1 has legitimately dope music but he could stand to switch up his flow some time. As an indie artist on the rise this is something that would only serve to make him stand out as well ass help separate him from Don Trip comparisons. All in all, this is a solid release from a solid artist.
Dope Tho Rating: 7
Key Dope:
Addiction
Shoota
Too Many X's
Same Energy
Dope Tho Rating System
1-3 = Nope Tho
4-6 = Solid
7-9 = Dope
10 = Dope Tho Official