G Herbo - 25 (Album)

G Herbo is back & better than ever; it's not like the man went anywhere. He recently purchased a school to provide young people in his community a place where they can get together & do something positive with their lives. It gives them another option other than what he, among many others, have had to endure to even get to the point of giving back to his people. He's now "25," & he doesn't want to die anymore & surely doesn't want to sit back & watch any more of his people die, so, in usual Herbo fashion, he bleeds his truth which happens to be the reality for a lot of people just like him. Some individuals just want to copy what they see those they look up to do, but he warns that the game is a lot more dangerous than they may have been brought up to believe. If you don't follow certain codes, you too could wound up where he always thought he'd be; luckily, he was blessed with a talent to get him out of that lifestyle. Still, it's very much a part of him, so don't test his gangsta.

Bringing along Polo G & Lil Tjay for more of these street anthems, he does so well; it's actually unfortunate how normal this is for people like him. He's so used to the violence that you just become numb to it; the emotion is still there for sure cause that's the drive he uses to seek his vengeance against those who have taken those dear to him. Just imagine a whole life of that, sometimes it even bleeds into where he's at now, he's still trying to face these fears of his but is also still making his moves knowing that if he made it through all that thunder, he can "Stand The Rain" but can you? He then links back up with everyone's favorite Savage, 21, to put that bounty on the "T.O.P." of the opps. If you didn't believe that energy is still very much a part of who he is, it could pop off any given second if that's what you want.

Many people grow this sense of entitlement once they see you doing good for yourself; it's incredible how many people come out of the woodwork demanding that you owe them a piece of your pie. Yet, Herbo is here to let them know that "You Can't" cause you weren't there when it was needed. The Kid LAROI delivers the best hook on this album & how swiftly it bleeds into Gunna's soulful testimonial is a gorgeous transition. Whenever great lyricists go over these samples, it's always a pleasure to hear; Herb is ever so grateful that he's never had to serve "No Jail Time," especially with everything he's had to do to get to this point in his life. Thankful that he's now making that legal money but lets it be known that he's just like the rest of us, flawed, still learning from mistakes that he's still making; it's beautiful when artists can get on a level playing field with their audience.

Herb really got his son Yosohn on his album, on wax with "Cold World," another street testimonial that expresses how lucky he feels that he made it out of that life but understands that it can catch up to him any second. So he keeps his guard up cause nobody is going to catch him slipping & take him away from his children, from his loved ones, he got an army of "Whole Hearts" behind him & they wear that shit on their sleeves. We even get some club bangers from Herb, which are always exceptional, "2 Chains", we get that "Drill" rap that he was known for before growing as an artist. Bringing along Rowdy Rebel for that one, the trenches still know his name like he's "Doughboy," which samples the iconic scene from Boyz n the Hood.

He got some "Demands" to let be known, though; he ain't going to settle for anything less than what's fair. Not only for him but for his people, they've been mistreated for far too long, people on the outside looking in love to criticize, people in power love to exploit instead of investing in the betterment of these communities & whenever somebody like him tries to invest his own money in doing so, taking matters into their own hands, they wanna come & accuse him of something as silly as credit card fraud, which Herb makes very clear on "Statement" that he's never been, it's just "Really Like That" for his people, but he still prays four his enemies, "Turning 25" has really put things into perspective for him & shown him what truly matters in life & it's beautiful that he's made it to this critical age & still has so much more left to do.