Meek Mill and Giggs Team Up For 'Northside Southside'

If you’re a fan of contemporary hip-hop chances are you know the name Meek Mill. The controversial Philadelphia rapper is always at the centre of a scandal. From his battles with Drake to his relationship with Nicki Minaj and his jail stint, the rapper is, by now, most definitely accustomed to being in the limelight.

With that being said, he is now back in the limelight but this time with South London’s Giggs as they hit fans with ‘Northside Southside’ a new and enticing collaboration.

Since Kanye West brought out the UK Grime scene during his 2015 BRIT performance, the US hip-hop scene has slowly but surely begun to embrace the UK and its various underground sounds. Artists such as Drake, A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator and Kid Cudi to name a few have all collaborated with UK artists in various ways and Meek Mill is now the latest on that growing list.

‘Northside Southisde’ is a dark trap track with very sparse production. Sonically, the instrumental is extremely monotone. There are no major key changes and the track is devoid of any sense of progression. However, this, in addition to the dark 808’s and inharmonic pads that pan left to right does culminate in a heavy sense of dread.

With regard to the drums, the crisp hi-hats and snare pierce through the mix and, without a drop of reverb, really do occupy their own space away from the gritty sub of the 808’s. The snare, which is most likely mono, also sits right in the middle of the mix and therefore doesn’t clash with any of the other instruments which are much wider.

The vocals of ‘Northside Southside’ are fairly mediocre. When one breaks down the subject matter there is nothing profound being said, unfortunately. merely the usual, drugs, gang life and women. However, I didn’t go into the track expecting conscious rap so as far as a trap release goes it is fairly standard. The delivery of lyrics from Giggs is extremely clear, however, I did struggle to understand some of Meek’s lyrics as the delivery was somewhat nasal.

The video, shot in Peckham Gigg’s hometown, is fairly engaging and is visually compelling featuring all sorts of effects. But one of the most interesting things I noticed is how it has been released on GRM. Despite the fact the track is a Meek Mill single, an American artist with a large following and a YouTube channel of his own, he still decided to release the video on GRM an underground 100% British YouTube platform. This is undoubtedly a big step forward, not just for British music but also for British media as platform GRM will undoubtedly gain new followers and views as the host of a Meek Mill single.

Overall ‘Northside Southside’ is a decent single from Meek Mill and it is always nice to see an American artist paying respect to the UK through collaboration and I hope to see much more in the future.

Meek Mill – ‘Northside Southside’

★ ★ ★

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