It's a propulsive and expertly crafted number about redemption, accountability and rising like the proverbial Phoenix after a life of hardship and hard knocks, and Tallahassee-based MC and vocalist T-Pain (Faheem Najm) guest drops a jubilant choir of modulated vocals into its chorus to send it soaring high.
In short, it's slamming.
And then there's the rest of the album.
And it's impressive.
"If Tomorrow Comes," released this week, is not quite a concept album, but it bears similarities. It's a 14-song and five-skit collection of tracks that document Maino's trek toward his hip-hop debut. Each skit represents a different step, beginning with his release from prison (the rapper did 10 years for a drug-related kidnapping) and ending with a phone call from Atlantic Records, offering him a deal.
The anthemic "All the Above," though not the album's first single (that honor went to the bouncy, smarmy "Hi Hater"), it's still the disc's strongest track, but there are a number of other standouts.
The album is best when the rhyming focus is on Maino's attempts to break into the rap game and change his life, rather than hip-hop's played-out lyrical subjects, which are praised, too: bling, hedonism, hot cars, fast women and shout-outs to the nation's 44th president.
The Swizz Beats-produced and positively celebratory "Million Bucks" kicks things off in wicked style, flipping the narrative on its ear by jumping to the end of the tale before the first skit, "Scene 1: If Tomorrow Comes," takes us back to where everything began.
Track five, "Gangsta," is old-school gritty and raw in its open-wound depiction of Maino's early life on the streets, where he committed petty crimes before his arrest at age 16. "OG's say I remind 'em of how they used to be," the rapper spews out in his husky baritone, "and if you never heard of me yet, better get used to me."
Another prime, club-ready cut can be found in "Here Comes Trouble," which is bolstered by buoyant, beat box-style thumping and speaker-splitting bass. And "Remember My Name," driven by Dangerous LLC, is a compelling look at one of Maino's bouts with doubt.
"If Tomorrow Comes" gets a bit weaker in its final stretch, though. Tracks like "Make a Movie," which graphically glorifies getting creative with a camera in the boudoir, come across as a little juvenile, and "Celebration," which spends about two-thirds of its 11-minute duration giving shout-outs to those who've drifted in and out of Maino's life, well, it just runs too long.
Still, there's plenty of hooks and exuberant confections to be found here, leaving lots of room for you to get your groove on and start your noggin nodding.
Bring on summer.
Find out what everyone else is viewing on abc12.com
| More Mid-Michigan and Flint news
|
ABC12 News at a glance |
|
abc12togo.com wireless |
Get us on your iPhone |
| ABC12 Desktop Alert Tool |
abc12.com newsletters |
|
Visit us on Facebook | Report a typo
|
| Follow us on
Twitter |
Comment on this story below and we may read what you have to say on the air.
