By Odeisel

Fear of God 2 is rife with assertions and claims to greatness that go beyond normal rapper arrogance. Whether or not Mr. Thornton can live up to these declarations has yet to be determined. The record is weighed down by low to mid tempo snare drums and 808-infused production on too many tracks. There is a slew of guest appearances, with Pusha enlisting old friends (Ab Liva), new friends (Kanye and Tyler The Creator), and friends that are foes (Ross and Jeezy) to round out the record.

Diddy ad libs on “Changing of the Guards,” which features Pusha song X over a grand production. Yeezy and Jezzy take it easy on “Amen,” continuing the religious allegory that rings hollow in the face of brother Malice’s actual conversion. Church bells and snare drums rest with every other cliché of trap music, including the mid tempo double-time flow. The guests overpower the host with their charisma but they’ve been doing that throughout their entire careers.

Tyler the Creator comes heavy on the very dope “Trouble on My Mind” over the hard drum and horn lifted construction. The track has that face-frowning appeal to it and bangs with distortion-tinged vocals on the hook and tight bars. Pusha rides solo with a little help from the greatest emcee in the world, Nature Boy Rick Flair on “What Dreams Are Made Of.” Don’t worry, Flair ain’t rhyming, just a vocal sample to set up Pusha’s Reagan era tales of street woe. it’s really no different from any Pusha T rap of $1000 sneakers, crack and his own magnificence, but if Jadakiss can get love and kick the same verse for over a decade, I suppose Pusha can get a pass.

Pusha T-rap music continues with escalations, double drum patterns and snare drums on “Body Work.” Count the number of times “nigga” shows up on the track and you may fall asleep like it’s sheep. “This ain’t no arcade nigga, so quit playing” is part of the sorry ass hook on this number. Meek Mill’s energy saves the record, n***a, but not by much. French Montana goes from an underwhelming verse on “Body Work” to a horrid hook on “Everything That Glitters.” Pusha drops a solid song over more trap music. Meh. “So Obvious” is an aptly-titled track with 808’s self-aggrandizement and more of the same old shit.

The slow stomp of “Felling Myself” finds Kevin Cossom playing T-Pain light, crooning retread ass lines like “ball like I’m 7 feet tall” a Pusha T doing what the title says. 50 Cent and the piano driven rhythm of “Raid” provides a desperately needed change of pace on the tape with Pharrell manning the hook and 50s charisma making the song a real standout. Military drums bring in “My God,” with swirling organs and a pace setting electric guitar loop. Lines like, “I got a voodoo doll every time I pen (pin) a verse, not only do they say they feel it but they say it hurts” is one of the few times on this album where Pusha comes close to delivering on the rampant boasting he does.

Rick Ross and Ab Liva amp up the power of the tape with “I Still Wanna” and Pusha responds to that pressure with a Clipse level verse and the strongest hook on the record, even if it’s still that drug shit. Bauce brings that force as always with that husky presence and the trademark “ugh”s that work well with the string arrangement and choir chants of the track. What Liva lacks in charisma he makes up with precision likes, flaunting “Bell Biv Devoe, push poison like a copperhead.”

As with the original Fear of God, Pusha’s lyrical highlight comes with the final track “Alone In Vegas.” More of this solo work would have pushed the album past the pedestrian trap music that litters the middle of the album.

Nothing on here is wack but there is too much of the same thing on Fear of God 2. For Pusha T to truly approach “godhood” he’s going to have to expand his song writing and stop rapping about the same thing every.single.song. Until then, there’s really nothing to fear.

3.25 out of 5

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