Coke Boys 5

11.10.20

Coke Boys 5 Releasing 11.20.20

French Montana is due to drop Coke Boys 5 on November 20th. As you can tell by the album artwork, the project is features heavy. It has been ten years since the first Coke Boys project, but the energy remains the same. Some of these features are expected, but others, they make me curious. Today, we have a new single off the project, so we must dive right in and see what on Earth is going on.

French Montana is known for his adlibs and turning things up at the club. Just a few months ago, the world was in an uproar for anyone who claimed that French Montana had more this than Kendrick Lamar. Sounds crazy, right? But when you think about it, if you are at the club, or a party, you will probably hear French Montana get more plays than Kendrick Lamar. Unless you are at a poetry slam or your friends like to sit in a circle and break down every line of the rap song. They are just different artists, and for anyone whom said French has more hits, they were not wrong, they were just speaking on a different type of music.

Since this battle though, it seemed like everyone wanted to clown French Montana. He has no hits, they’re not even his songs, even him and Swae Lee got into it, and they went 8x platinum together. So with that, excuse me while I am a little shocked that Benny the Butcher is the second feature released on this album. I mean, Benny is the King of straight bars, raw lyrics and storytelling. What is this song going to entail? If the rumors are true that Griselda is over at the end of this year, is Benny going to switch up his style to remain relevant in the industry? Let’s listen and find out.

Hint, the song is called Wave Blues, and they are not necessarily talking about money. If anything, French Montana switched up his style to match Benny the Butcher’s on this track. The track opens up with an older tune, Michael Kiwanuka’s I’ll Never Love. The chorus is then sampled throughout the song. French puts on his singing cap a bit here, and tries to tell a real story. Benny comes and does the same. While it is a bit slow, the bars and the story telling was not forgotten with this one. The two tell their stories from growing up in New York and what it took for them to get out of their struggled paths.

The song was cool, but it was not the pumped up French Montana that we are used to. To be honest, for me, this is why his albums never hit has hard as I want them too. It would be like a one time list, okay this is cool, then that is it. I wonder if French wanted to get Benny on his project, to show he versatility, and gain back some credibility after everything that has transpired this year. Benny and the rest of Griselda have been grinding nonstop this year, so it makes sense he is taking features, but this one just feels a little different. Especially compared to the rest that are due to come out on this list.

One other single has been released so far, and that is with Pop Smoke, another New York City legend. This is a drill type song, Pop’s speciality, which has been floating around for a few weeks now. This pair fits together a bit more organically with their super unique sounds and adlibs that suggest they are there to party. Like anything with the late Pop Smoke on it, this will be a hit that everyone wants to play.

Out of the nineteen tracks on the Coke Boys 5 album, seventeen of them have features. Of course, we do have French Montana’s late best friend, Chinx on the project, twice. This should bring back some old French Montana vibes. I would love to hear these songs, and learn if they are old, new, or maybe a combination of both. Perhaps using some of Chinx’s old, favorite work, with French’s new twists. Clearly, he is adapting to the times, as the rest of this list gets interesting.

Jack Harlow is on the album twice, as well as Lil Durk. LGP Qua is a super young artist from Philadelphia, who quite frankly, has yet to make a name for himself. But is almost like French’s protégé at this point. Somehow, NBA Youngboy is just getting on tracks with everyone. Lil Mosey makes an appearance, as well. So, the young squad is here to play, and this will be interesting to see how they all connect.

On the other hand, you have people like Jim Jones on the project. I had no idea he was still making music. I thought he was just talking to himself on Instagram, really. A$AP Rocky is on the project, which will be cool to hear. I think I have heard more new music from the rest of the A$AP Mob this year than I have of Rocky in quite some time. Finally, Curren$y makes the list as well.

Different generations and styles of hip-hop will bring us French Montana’s Coke Boys 5. Currently, I am not popping bottles at my pool in a Mink bath robe, so I guess we will have to wait until November 20th to see how the rest of this project plays out.