- Netflix & Deal sees popular west-coast trap rapper 03 Greedo team up with producer Kenny Beats for a full length thirteen track project. The past two years Kenny has risen in popularity off the back of several noteworthy projects and singles with artists such as Rico Nasty and Zack Fox. Greedo’s career, however, has been hit with obstacles as he was sentenced to twenty years over drug and weapons convictions in 2018. Using his ability to craft beats to suit the artist, Kenny is able to guide Greedo who reflects on drugs, women and his incarceration over solid trap melodies.
Paid In Full may seem like a stereotypical trap song but the combination of Kenny and Greedo saves it from what would otherwise be redundant. Greedo strives with his singer-rapper techniques over a catchy chorus about selling cocaine. Kenny reflects this with a glossy synth and snare combo that bangs a mile a minute.
Disco Shit follows Paid and features frequent Kenny Beats collaborator Freddie Gibbs who imitates Greedo’s singing style effectively. The track continues the narrative of coke selling with Greedo admitting he prefers trafficking to being famous. Referencing the 2001 film Blow, the song continues to display Greedo’s ability to write an effective chorus that will stick in your mind for days. Gibbs steals the track with a style of rapping not attempted by him since 2015’s Shadow of a Doubt.
The best track of the project comes in the first single Maria which is a tightly-written and perfectly produced trap hit. A dedication to a woman on his mind, the song allows for Greedo to not only perfect a chorus but deliver his best verses in the entire project. Featuring references to Carlos Santana and his 1999 hit Maria Maria, Kenny delivers a beat that is as close to a Latin flavoured jam as this form of trap can be. Undeniably catchy, Maria belongs on any trap lover’s playlist for the foreseeable future.
From here, the project becomes less remarkable and more repetitive as it follows a simple formula between decent choruses and hard synth beats. For every good guest, such as Vince Staples and Key!, there is one who is just as awful, especially Maxo Kream who comes through with one of his worst choruses and verses to date. Blue People, Aye Twin and Soul Food are solid trap hits that stand out a little from the rest of the predictability but still stick close to the blueprint that makes the best tracks so noteworthy.
Despite the star power of both artists, Netflix And Deal never truly lives up to the sum of its two parts. The project would make for a better EP with the track list whittled down to around seven. When Greedo and Kenny shine however, there is a true talent in both their abilities and the music that they can produce. Songs like Maria and Disco Shit prove them to be contenders in the rap scene even if it is in a sea of monotonous and just listenable trap.
- James Chadwick.