Review: Bad and Boujee (Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert)

I memed too hard and became depressed. Still don't regret a thing.

I'm sure you kids all know what a meme is. If you don't, then I'm not going to explain it to you. The definition is harder to understand than the word is. So, yeah, kids these days are all about the memes. What's this got to do with music?

To put it simply, memes have impacted the popular world of music for a few years now. Songs like Gangnam Style, Harlem Shake, and The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) that wouldn't have been popular otherwise managed to be successes as a result of the power of memes. Heck, our last number one, Black Beatles, got big as a result of the Mannequin Challenge, a (say it with me) meme. It looks like we've got another one right here.

This is Bad and Boujee, a collaboration between Lawrenceville-based rap group Migos (consisting of cousins Offset, Quavo and Takeoff) and Philadelpha-based rapper Lil Uzi Vert. The production is handled by Metro Boomin (aka Young Metro), a producer and DJ from St. Louis who is best known for having produced various successful rap songs since 2014, including Low Life, Wicked (both by Future, though the first has a chorus by The Weeknd), Father Stretch My Hands pt. 1 (Kanye West ft. Kid Cudi and Kelly Price), and Jumpman (collaboration between Drake and the aforementioned Future). This is a fairly popular song on the Internet right now, with various memes being made off of it. Thanks to these, plus the already-monstrous streaming and sales, this thing managed to top the Billboard Hot 100... you know why I'm here. Let's talk about this.

You can't expect a lot in the lyrics department with trap music. It's all about sex, drugs, and materialistic possessions. These guys are totally happy to be rich and are gonna flaunt it. This is expressed well in the title, Bad and Boujee. The word "Boujee" is a shortening of "bourgeois," which symbolizes the materialistic concerns and lifestyles of these rappers and the many women they know. It's been done before, and it ain't gonna stop anytime soon.

Okay, I'd like to admit something. I'm definitely not the right person to be reviewing this. I have no idea what most of these lyrics mean, I need Genius to understand most of these. There are various references to very specific varieties of drugs and cars, and the song is very-deeply rooted in the trap culture of the southern United States. Honestly, maybe someone who's a member of that scene would appreciate this song a lot more than I would. Then again, they may think it's a very lousy interpretation. Who knows?

Let's talk about my mortal enemy, Metro Boomin. Sometimes he's Young Metro. Sometimes he's just Metro. Either way, he's the producer of this thing. I like to blame this guy for all of my problems, mostly because, well, he hasn't done a whole lot of good work. He's produced some of the most drab, depressing, yet painfully catchy beats I think I've ever heard. Despite this catchiness, the beat still isn't very good. The low, plodding piano with some sort of bell-like sound do not go well together, and not even the drum is enough to save it.

So yeah, I really don't care for this song. It's not bad, per se, but it's definitely not good. It's... mediocre. Below average. It's a song that deserves to be forgotten in five years. That's likely what's going to happen, at least.

SCORE: 4.5/10

BONUS: hate u love u (Olivia O'Brien solo version)

This song should need no introduction if you've been following me for a while. This is i hate u, i love u, a collaboration between American singers Gnash and Olivia O'Brien. Now, you may know that I really like this song; sincerely, I enjoy this song. I even put this in the honorable mentions of my best list. Unfortunately, it seems I'm one of very few who actually shares this sentiment, as after reading and watching various other year-end lists, I am under the assumption that 90% of people hate this song. Why is that?

There's a number of reasons people seem to give. It's depressing an unpleasant. The production is minimal, almost nonexistent. The lyrics are confused, unfocused, and all over the place. The most common complaint I seem to see, however, is the performers, Gnash especially. A lot of the problems people have with the song are a result of the man in the above thumbnail, from his verse contradicting the rest of the song to just plain sounding bored. Well, what if I told you there's a version that's completely void of Gnash's involvement?

This here is the solo version that Olivia O'Brien wrote back in 2015. It's got a new second verse where Gnash's verse would normally be, plus different production. Miraculously, this thing has managed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week despite virtually no buzz surrounding it whatsoever. You know what? That's honestly kind of a shame, because this version manages to be better in almost every way. Let's figure out how.

For one, the narrative is tons more focused. When you realize the song takes place from the view of a high school student, and then you cut out Gnash's verse, the lyrics make a whole lot more sense. It's not about two exes, it's one ex's feelings about another. No complications, it's all very simple. It's very raw, very honest.

Plus, there's actual production here. I can't figure out who's producing here, but I'm pretty certain it's not Gnash again. Though the pianos sound somewhat compressed during the choruses, it feels like an actual song at least. The cymbals, the snares, it all works well here for how brief it is. The song just feels bigger the longer it goes on, like it really should.

So yeah, I have very little to say about this. Honestly, if this version had been the hit instead of the Gnash version, it probably would have made the top 10. So, yeah, that's that. The next review's coming up shortly, so stay tuned.

SCORE: 8.5/10