With TikTok’s ever growing popularity, there’s been no shortage of vapid, soulless music created solely to act as the inescapable earworm of the week on your “For You” page. It is the inevitable byproduct of the platform’s success, and labels try their hardest to use it to boost streams, as those numbers are seemingly the only metric on which they base an artist’s worth. But it’s not a TikTok star who has potentially the worst major label rap album of the year, it’s a Youtuber. With Maybe It’s Me…, DDG’s latest attempt at crafting an album, the Michigan-born YouTuber-turned-rapper delivers an almost impressively hollow experience, void of any semblance of artistic integrity.
This album plays like it was crafted in a lab by out-of-touch executives, based solely on their preconceived notions of modern Hip Hop music, making it sound as generic as humanly possible in an attempt to manipulate every algorithm they can. This strategy is incredibly apparent given that 25% of the album is just different versions of the semi-viral almost hit “I’m Geekin,” The sped-up, slowed down, and nightcore versions of the album also exist primarily to milk as many dollars as possible.
DDG’s music takes no risks as he vies for the most inoffensive, unremarkable, and bland sound he can, clearly trying to weasel his way into placements on major playlists. A prime example of this is “Rizz,” which plays like DDG had a checklist of trends in-hand while crafting it. From a title that screams “look at me, I’m so current!,” to the run-of-the-mill instrumental, to the attempted Yeat-like flows and vocal inflections, there’s not a semblance of DDG’s own personality present in the song’s DNA.
Even in the few moments where he tries to bring some depth to the music, such as the intro track, “Famous,” he fails to connect with the listener at all. DDG attempts to sound vulnerable and open, but the whole ordeal just comes off as the auto-tuned ramblings of a man who is nothing but whiny, bitter and deeply insecure. It’s a song that exists solely to question whether his partner, Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey, has feelings for her co-stars or to complain at length about any time she has been in the same vicinity as other men at work. He’s completely unable to separate her acting from reality, and it seemingly eats him alive, repeatedly stating that it has to stop.
Hilariously, when the shoe is on the other foot, DDG has no qualms with listeners thinking that he has a stable of women waiting at his beck and call at any given moment, as just a few songs later, he is an unabashed womaniser on “Trynna Link.” The self awareness is nonexistent, as just one song after expressing how threatened he is whenever another man enters his partner’s space, he proudly proclaims that he’s got, “one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight hoes tryna link.” Even when he attempts a heartfelt moment it’s swiftly undercut by him continuing to pose as what he seemingly envisions a rapper in his lane should embody. His desire to have an image aligned with someone like Future, whom he clearly leeches off of stylistically, completely negates his one earnest, albeit misguided attempt at showcasing his humanity.
There is no stretch of the album more unbearable than the run of “I’m Geekin” and its remixes playing one after the other. The song is, at best, a decent single from a middling rapper, empty NBA2K Menu Music. Normally, we could let this fall in the background while upgrading our MyPlayer. But make that one little song seven minutes across the three different versions, and it feels like being on an endless loop during groundhog day. Given the completely forgettable and lacklustre nature of the original, it’s baffling that it got not one, but two remixes. Even more confounding is that despite the contributions from Luh Tyler, BIA or NLE Choppa across the other two other versions, it remains a painstakingly mediocre cut. Nothing can save the monotony of the mind-numbingly simplistic flows and hook that DDG brings to the table, which sees him posturing as some tough guy that’s not to be messed with.
Despite clocking in at under 34 minutes, Maybe It’s Me… is a mind-numbingly daunting listen that feels like it goes on forever, overstaying its welcome before hitting the halfway mark. These are songs that, at best, could be used in the background of a mid-budget direct-to-streaming movie, where they are heard but don’t have to be listened to.
It’s clear DDG knows what he wants his music to sound like: a business. DDG has personality, it was evident in his YouTube videos. But if he continues to have nothing to say on record, the music will remain purposeless and inconsequential.
Via hiphopdx.com
