His May arrest for year-old warrants hasn't stopped Kodak Black's Lil B.I.G. Pac mixtape from seeing the light of day. The warrants, whose charges include armed robbery and false imprisonment, led to the Florida native's second arrest of 2016, the first coming after taking police on a high-speed car chase — all this before he's old enough to legally drink.
True to his recent trials, Lil B.I.G. Pac is as dichotomous as Black himself: a 19-year-old who grew up fast in some respects, yet is still just that — a teenager, mind you — in others. Black's flashes of maturity make up the mixtape's gems, particularly "Everything 1k" and "Can I." The former finds him addressing his lack of guidance in growing up fatherless and recognizing his opportunity to break away from the streets, while the latter finds him begging to get his due in peace over Devin the Dude-evoking production. "Gave it all I Got" is a fittingly raw account of Black's commitment to the street while still in school, though he vows to go on the straight and narrow on "Too Many Years" and "Letter."
For all the signs of Black's newfound maturity, it's the tracks betraying his age that hurt LBP. "Big Bank" and "Today" are two of a handful of songs plagued by lazy flows and bars, the former rife with braggadocio duds like "I be on that Little Caesar's shit, hot and ready." Still, Black's raw pen game and unabashed authenticity show promise; he just needs to heed his own words.
(Independent)True to his recent trials, Lil B.I.G. Pac is as dichotomous as Black himself: a 19-year-old who grew up fast in some respects, yet is still just that — a teenager, mind you — in others. Black's flashes of maturity make up the mixtape's gems, particularly "Everything 1k" and "Can I." The former finds him addressing his lack of guidance in growing up fatherless and recognizing his opportunity to break away from the streets, while the latter finds him begging to get his due in peace over Devin the Dude-evoking production. "Gave it all I Got" is a fittingly raw account of Black's commitment to the street while still in school, though he vows to go on the straight and narrow on "Too Many Years" and "Letter."
For all the signs of Black's newfound maturity, it's the tracks betraying his age that hurt LBP. "Big Bank" and "Today" are two of a handful of songs plagued by lazy flows and bars, the former rife with braggadocio duds like "I be on that Little Caesar's shit, hot and ready." Still, Black's raw pen game and unabashed authenticity show promise; he just needs to heed his own words.
