Chicago-bred rapper
Polo G took his city's drill style into a more commercial realm with his sorrowful, emotionally bare style. His first two albums centered around songs of daily struggles, sleepless nights, and friends taken too early by unforgiving street life, with his effortless flows fluttering by atop mournful piano loops and foreboding bass thumps. Third studio album
Hall of Fame swims even further into the mainstream, offering more of
Polo G's catchy if painful reflections over more accessible and pop-minded production. Songs like "RAPSTAR," "Toxic," "Black Hearted," and several others show a new affinity for pensive guitar loops and atmospheric vocal samples floating over fluid drum programming. Combined with
Polo G's near-breathless sung-rapped flows, the production makes
Hall of Fame rush by like a nonstop stream of heavy-hearted reflections.
Polo's once-minimal drill instrumentals are traded in for tunes that almost feel geared to land as crossover radio hits. The rock undercurrents of "Broken Guitars" and friendly tropical hooks of "For the Love of New York" speak to a bid for deeper pop accessibility, and features from verified superstars like
Nicki Minaj,
DaBaby, and
Lil Wayne also suggest a change of lanes. Even still, some of
Hall of Fame's best moments come when
Polo G is in his original element, like when he's commiserating with fellow pain rapper
Rod Wave on "Heart of a Giant" or trying on more aggressive approaches on the short but ruthless "GNF (OKOKOK)." ~ Fred Thomas