Supa Soop – Soop Nation (Hosted By DJ Smirnoff Ice) (Datpiff)
Supa Soop has teamed up with DJ Smirnoff Ice of 24kMixtapes.com (you’ll hear that a lot) to bring us a mixtape that raises the question: Should one do what others do because you do it well, or for better or worse, should you risk doing you?
Supa Soop – Soop Nation (Hosted By DJ Smirnoff Ice) (Datpiff)
Supa Soop has teamed up with DJ Smirnoff Ice of 24kMixtapes.com (you’ll hear that a lot) to bring us a mixtape that raises the question: Should one do what others do because you do it well, or for better or worse, should you risk doing you? It takes Soop a little while to get started, and through the first few tracks it feels as if he is more focused on letting you know that he has what it takes, is confident, isn’t going to quit, dumb it down, or do anything but himself and “you can love it or hate it, but respect it.”
Noticeable from the start is both the excellent beat selection and sometimes annoying presence of DJ Smirnoff Ice and the 24kmixtapes.com drops (both louder than everything else when present), leaving Soop to play the background on his own project. This 14 (plus 4 bonus) tracks mixtape’s highlight comes early, with “Like Its Nothing To Do,” where Soop channels his inner Pimp C and gets down over a Back Pack Beatz-produced track that as Juicy J would say, is “some pimpin.”
The accessible “Throw Me Shade,” featuring a solid verse from Rich P, goes for that confident, commercial, swagged out feel and gets the job done; but leaves you feeling like you haven’t heard him at his best. On “Yay,” another standout selection in this release, Soop takes you to his hood and keeps it real, telling you: “I ain’t never had shit/ all a nigga really got is his hope/ and my dream/ and my pride/ can’t swallow that cuz I might choke.” He also tries to remind you that he is aware of today’s music on the smooth “Something New,” where he says “it’s for the radio,” but then after that gets back to doing the same stuff other artists are doing. I would have liked to hear that record earlier in the project, as its placement takes a lot away from it.
While it’s clear Soop is quite talented, some odd hooks, repetitive subject matter (ho’s….ho’s…get rich…..), and mediocre bonus tracks limit what he is trying to accomplish here, leaving you with a mixtape that is not quite Supa, but definitely Soop.
[Ended up with an odd number of reviews, so only one mixtape review this time out… but keep sending us your mixtapes for review! hello@rvamag.com]
