Maez301 – “HASAAN” (Album Review)
This is the sophomore album from Maryland‘s very own Maez301. Setting his foot in the industry a few years ago with his debut mixtape Nowhere, the project eventually caught the attention of Ervin Pope & Jerome Taylor. Both of whom helped Maez sign with Strange Music in 2018 & just last fall, they put his self-titled debut showcasing versatility. And as the 1 year anniversary of that album approaches in a couple months, Maez & Ervin are back at it again with Hasaan.
The album kicks off with “Thank You”, where Maez talks about living how he wants now over a graceful beat. The next song “Eff U Thought” with Lex Bratcher sees the 2 clapping back at their detractors over a hard trap instrumental while the track “Like It” with E-40 finds both of them charmingly bragging about themselves over a hyphy beat. The song “R.I.P.” with Infinite E sees the 2 talking about women doing them dirty over a slow instrumental while the track “Back in a Minute” flexes over a playful trap beat.
The song “Sick” vents about almost taking his own life over a mellow instrumental while the track “Orange Blood” talks about wanting to be taken back to when life for him was sample over a trap beat from some luscious keyboards. The song “Y.O.L.O. (You Only Live Once)” talks about turning up over a vigorous instrumental while the track “Lately” tells this woman not to fuck with him over a punchy yet somewhat atmospheric beat.
The song “Don’t Go” with Leila is a decent R&B/trap fused duet about heartbreak while the track “She Say” talks about sex over a moody beat. The song “Never Go” talks about a bitch switching on him over a gentle boom bappy instrumental while the track “Stride” talks about a woman running back to him over a nocturnal beat.
The song “20879” with Ducemd & Infinite E sees the 3 boasting over a vibrant instrumental while the track “90047” with Bad Lucc finds the 2 showing the listeners how to get bread over a euphoric beat with a bit of a West Coast feel to it. The song “Destiny” talks about being made for this rap shit over an instrumental cooler than the ocean breeze while the track “Let U Go” is an acoustic ballad about moving on from this woman.
The song “Up” with Infinite E sees the 2 talking about how they’re on top over a glamorous instrumental while the track “Instagram Famous” is pretty much both of them getting back together again to talk about hoes with large social media followings over a plain beat. The closer “Real Real Love” repetitively talks about wanting an actually romantic bond over an unexpected synth-funk instrumental & then the bonus cut “Higher” gives thanks to the higher power over a synthy boom bap beat.
This is just as dope as the self-titled album & it’s another reminder of how talented Maez can be. The lyrics are a lot more personal this time around in comparison to previous efforts & Ervin Pope’s production continues to bring the best out of him.
Score: 7/10
