This is one of those albums that I have been waiting for and anticipating for a while now. Ever since I heard about this project being a thing, I have assumed that it would be great, because Kenny Beats and 03 Greedo are just so excellent at their crafts. I do not really think that I have to get into the back story of Kenny too much, as I have written a full article about him in the past(that I just reposted on my social media, so please go check it out). All I really need to say is that he has become one of the most sought after and innovative producers in the hip hop world in a relatively short amount of time, and it seems like everything he puts out is fricken awesome. 03 Greedo is also one of the most creative and interesting hip hop artists in the game right now, but he has not really gotten the notoriety he deserves. This is partly because he has been in jail on and off for his whole career and is currently in jail right now. Greedo is a sophisticated lyricist and can rap with a variety of flows and sing in a variety of melodies, and I hope that this record gets him more of the credit that he deserves. Netflix and Deal is a themed record, with every song having a title and having lyrics that relate to 03 Greedo’s favorite drug dealing movies. In fact, apparently Greedo was literally watching the movies while in the studio recording this album, which is pretty weird and great in my opinion. It is one of the most creative and coolest rap records to come out this year, and it truly highlights the skills that both of these artists possess.

I had to grind and you never had it. I made a flip rollin’ by in traffic. When I get bored I get back at it. Everything I want, everything I want...

It should not be tough to figure out the movies that inspired the first two songs on this list, considering both tracks are literally named after their movie. Netflix and Deal gets off to a smooth but still hard start with ‘Traffic;’ it is one of the more low key songs on the record, but it still gives you a nice little taste of what is to come. This song has a hypnotic cloud trap melody that is pretty dreamy, and 03 Greedo glides over this instrumental with such ease. It is obvious from the start that the collaboration of Kenny and Greedo is a match made in heaven. On ‘Traffic,’ Greedo tells us about how he came from the gutter just like his haters, and he lets us know how hard he has worked to get to where he is. I love his rapid-fire flow in the verse on this song; the speed in which 03 Greedo raps with brings a needed intensity to this song. ‘Paid In Full’ keeps a similar sort of melodic and cloudy trap formula to it; the melody is kind of similar to the first track, which makes the transition into this song super damn smooth. The instrumental for this song reminds me of an old Migos and Zaytoven song; this track has a flute driven melody that would be super easy to mistake for a 2012 Zaytoven joint, but the hard and buzzing bass will quickly remind anyone that this is definitely a Kenny Beats production. If this one were made my a typical Atlanta trap producer and a typical Atlanta trap rapper, it would probably sound kind of typical; thank god for the creativity of Kenny Beats, though, because he can make any “normal” trap joint into something weird and cool. 03 Greedo’s flow is so infectious on this song and it makes me want to rage so hard. I swear to god it is like a mixture of MadeinTyo and Jay-Z; I realize this description does not really make a ton of sense, so I guess you will have to listen to it to see what I mean. ‘Paid In Full’ is a perfectly placed banger that lets you know what you are getting into with this record. ‘Disco Shit,’ which features Freddie Gibbs, is probably the most unique song on Netflix and Deal, and I doubt it is the kind of song that you would expect to hear from Greedo(or Kenny for that matter). The melody, as well as the overall flow and style of this song, is super unique for 2019 and especially unique for trap artists. The melody for ‘Disco Shit’ is provided by a jazzy electric guitar, and it totally has the disco vibe that the title of the song indicates. In fact, it almost has a G-Funk feeling to it and I could see someone like Snoop Dogg making a song like this back in the day. This one is inspired by the movie Blow, which is apparent from the lyrics about famous cocaine dealer George Jung. Freddie Gibbs really stands out on this track to me; I have never heard him sing like this on any of his own music, and he absolutely kills it on ‘Disco Shit.’

Tryna pull up in a Tesla with my feet up; keep fuckin’ up my re-up. So I pull up on María, she my señorita, and the plug is her peoples…

‘Maria’ is definitely one of the coldest and vicious songs on this record, and it makes sense to me why it was released as a single. This song is probably what you would expect out of a collaboration between Greedo and Kenny, as the beat is super hard and bass-heavy and the flow is super quick and cold-blooded; although it is not that unique in the grand scheme of things and would probably be considered a somewhat typical song from these artists, it is still very tough and should not be slept on at all. ‘Blue People,’ which features Vince Staples, is similar to ‘Disco Shit’ in how it is pretty different from the rest of the album. This is another track that you would probably not expect someone like 03 Greedo to make, but he and Vince kill it nonetheless. This song has a bit of an R&B feeling and element to it that you would definitely not expect from Vince or Greedo at all; in fact, I get major PartyNextDoor or even Drake vibes from this song. I love these lyrics in the chorus about blue movie characters that are weird and alienistic: In my pocket, blue peoples in my backyard. Blue faces, nightcrawler, blue bands that part. Avatar, ohh, Avatar(Lilo and Stitch!)… The melody and vibe of this song has a very chiptune and 8-bit element to it, so these references to animated or supernatural characters fit into the song super well. The next song, ‘Beg Your Pardon,’ which features Maxo Kream, is such a perfect and natural-sounding collaboration; these guys were definitely made to make music together. I would not say there is anything too special or different about this song, as it is pretty much what you expect from a collaboration between these two. I find this to be a great thing, because like I said they just sound so natural on this song. I love how the beat and melody are sort of tailored to Maxo’s voice and flow, as this makes ‘Beg Your Pardon’ such a smooth trap track. ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ almost feels like a skit track to me, as it is pretty different from what we have heard so far on this record and kind of throws off the flow. Even though it is not necessarily funny and is actually pretty reflective, the flow is funky and the melody sounds like it would come out of an old video game, and it gives us a much-needed breather from the intensity the rest of the record. Although this one is not one of my favorites on this record, it does help slow us down and reset for the rest of the record. ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’ totally serves its important purpose in the overall scheme of Netflix and Deal.

‘Brad Pitt’ does not necessarily have one movie that inspires it; in fact, as apparent from the lyrics, there are quite a few movies that feature Brad Pitt that inspire this track. Some of the movies referred to in this song are Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Interview With the Vampire. I have to say, 03 Greedo’s opinion on movies seems to be pretty great. This song is very boisterous and aggressive and in your face, and the horns that make up the melody sound like they should have come from a Meek Mill track. ‘Brad Pitt’ probably will not go down as my favorite song from Netflix and Deal, but it definitely fits into the flow and scheme of the album super well. Speaking of favorites, the next song, ‘Aye, Twin,’ which features KEY, is totally a major highlight for me from this project. I mean I do not think there could be a scenario where I would not just love a song that comes from Kenny Beats, KEY, and 03 Greedo, so this should not be surprising. There is nothing super special or out of the ordinary about ‘Aye, Twin;’ in fact, I would say that this song sounds exactly what you expect it to sound like coming from this trio. In my opinion, this is a great thing! I mean, you wouldn’t go to a Milwaukee Bucks game and get mad because Giannis dunked it 20 times instead of shooting jumpers. Sometimes you just need to let those people that are considered to be at the top of their craft shine at that craft. ‘Aye, Twin’ is a hard as hell trap banger that sounds exactly how it should sound, and is, in my opinion, one of the hardest bangers on this record. ‘Life’ is another song that has a really different vibe than what you would be used to from Greedo. This track is super melodic and sweet-sounding; it is basically a chill and pretty Latin trap joint that has a bit of a Jamaican and reggae vibe to it as well. The vocal style that Greedo uses on this song is very reggae-sounding as well; in fact, it reminds me a lot of Shaggy. After the last few songs, which were all very intense and had sort of similar underground dirty trap vibes, ‘Life’ is a well-timed switch up that highlights yet another style that Greedo can rap with.

Imma pull up in a Benz, I don’t pull up with no friends. It‘s the Gucci, it ain’t Timb. Imma pull up in a Benz with the Gucci on my lens. I might pull up in a Benz…

‘Payback,’ which features Shoreline Mafia member OhGeesy, is a dope West Coast-style remake of a Dirty South classic. This track samples and takes inspiration from Birdman and Mannie Fresh’s timeless bop ‘I’m So Fly.’ Not only does ‘Payback’ have a similar melody and flow to ‘I’m So Fly,’ but it even follows a similar lyrical theme. Greedo and OHGeesy did definitely give this song their own flavor tho, as their flows on the verses as well as the beat have sort of a neo-G Funk vibe. There is a reason there are so many Shoreline Mafia songs that include Greedo in them; they have just such similar flows and sound so good on songs together. The next song, ‘Soul Food,’ which features Buddy, is the only song on this album that actually disappoints me on any level, as it just feels like it is not enough. This song has a super unique sound and style, but in my opinion, it is just too short, and just does not sound complete to me. Especially considering the fact that 03 Greedo and Buddy have such unique and conflicting styles, I just feel like they could have done more with this song. This project closes out with the song ‘Dead Presidents,’ and I think that it is a very tight way to end the record, because once again it has the type of vibe that sounds pretty typical for this duo, and just rounds out the album nicely. Also, the topic of this track is very relatable, as we are all out here searching for those dead Presidents, making it a nice way to close out the record. ‘Dead Presidents’ has a pretty typical hard ass trap beat with a sweet melody to make the track not sound too dark, and Greedo raps about his quest to obtain the finer things in life, which is obviously something we all relate to. This classic trap instrumental and this theme just make ‘Dead Presidents’ a really nice way to close this kind of album.

Netflix and Deal is a pretty great example of a great rapper and great producer who both excel at their craft coming together to make some pretty cool art. I would assume that a project that is created by the combination of Kenny Beats and 03 Greedo would be pretty dope, because they are both awesome at what they do, and I was not wrong to assume that. This record stays on a cool and unique topic throughout the album and features a plethora of other great hip hop artists who add their own unique contributions. Netflix and Deal highlights everything about what make Kenny and Greedo excel, and even has them experimenting in different ways throughout the album to show that they are not one-trick ponies in any way. Overall, Netflix and Deal is just as good as I expected it to be, and I know that I will be listening to it quite a bit in the foreseeable future.



7.9/10