'Time Served' will be time well spent

The rap music industry got off to a hot start in 2020 thanks to Memphis, Tennessee’s Moneybagg Yo. Formally known as Demario White, Moneybagg Yo released his 15-track album, “Time Served,” on Jan. 10, and it was already the number one trending rap/hip hop album on Apple Music a few days later. Of the 15 songs produced, six of them featured other prominent rap artists, such as Future, Lil Baby and 2019 XXL Magazine rookie class member DaBaby.

Within a week of the album being released, tracks “Protect da Brand” feauring DaBaby, “U Played” featuring Lil Baby, “1 2 3” featuring Blac Youngsta, and “Federal Fed” featuring Future, all made appearances on Apple Music’s Top 100 hip hop/rap trending chart. “Protect da Brand” ranked the highest, coming in at 29th. In this song, Moneybagg Yo and DaBaby come together to create a catchy and upbeat masterpiece that will be a hit throughout the year among rap listeners.

Whenever an album is released, I always look to see who else will be featured, and Moneybagg Yo did a great job of getting a number of highly touted artists to join him.

It’s not just the guests, though. This album will stick around my “Best Of” list because of the variety of beats and types of lyrics used on each track. On each song, Moneybagg Yo was able to make sure they had their own unique beat and lyrics, making this album what it is. Many artists are afraid to get away from what made them famous, but the great ones aren’t afraid to take chances and mix it up.

My personal favorite tracks were “Federal Fed,” “U Played” and “Speak 4 Em.” “Federal Fed,” featuring Future, is an early candidate for song of the year as Moneybagg Yo went and recruited my all-time favorite rap artist to collaborate. Already trending high on the charts, “U Played” is also trending frequently in my head. This is a perfect combination of two artists that rely heavily on a fast beat and rap with a freestyle like tone.

Moneybagg Yo burst onto the rap scene in 2016 when he signed his first major rap deal with the Collective Music Group. It was then that his first two mixtapes made appearances on the Billboard 200. His first album, “Reset,” came out in 2018 and peaked at number 13 on the charts. He is poised to have a successful year as lyrical and rhythmic music began to make a big push toward the end of 2019, with rappers such as Roddy Ricch and his song “The Box,” and Lil Baby with his song “Woah,” both finishing the year in the top 10 on the Apple Music chart.

Watch out for musicians such as Moneybagg Yo in 2020, as he set the bar early for rap artists and the entire rap scene for the new year.

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