Still Snowin’ Delivers the Nostalgia, But Not the Momentum

At this point in his career, Young Jeezy has cemented his place among the Atlanta trap music pioneers and certified legends. However, as we enter the twilight of his musical career, the releases have been either hit or miss. On his latest effort, Still Snowin’, Jeezy attempts to capture the essence of classic funk and infuse it with his mature, “doughboy” euphemisms. Outside a few high points, he delivers some nostalgia but overall a lackluster project.

Going into this project, I honestly did not know what to expect, as this has probably been one of the best-kept surprise drops of recent memory. However, by the second track, it’s clear that this is more of a conceptual project, with Jeezy spitting his usual street tales and life lessons over classic ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s soul beats. While I salute the attempt to do something different, history tells us that entire projects in which a rapper is spitting over classic R&B and Soul beats can be a difficult task to pull off, particularly if there is little attempt to change up or modernize the beat. If done correctly, though, it can give new life to a forgotten song. On the flip side, if done wrong, it simply makes one want to listen to the original song and never play this again—and too many times in this project, I felt the latter.

While there have been very few times in his career that I have seen a beat befuddle the artist, there are more than a few songs where the Snowman’s flow felt awkward in trying to fit the pacing of some of the tracks, particularly on “Snowman Party,” “Anything,” and “If You Don’t Know Me” (this was probably the most egregious example). Indeed, on subsequent listens, I found myself hitting skip on quite a bit of the album, which I hate to say as an admitted fan of the artist.

However, there are a few redeeming tracks in which you can see the vision they had with the album. “Keep That Same Energy” and “Thug Life Again” picked up the energy toward the latter half of the project and are undoubtedly the best songs on the album. If Drama and Jeezy were able to fit a few more tracks like those, they may have had a winner. However, they are followed by “Back for More” and the aforementioned “If You Don’t Know Me,” dampening the momentum.

In closing, I can appreciate the nostalgia and experimentation in which this album was crafted; however, the execution simply was not there. DJ Drama and Jeezy have undoubtedly solidified their place in the culture as pioneers, so a certain standard is expected, and in my opinion, this album didn’t hit the target. While I am certain this won’t be the last project we get from the pairing, this one thus far has been my least favorite—outside a few highs, it has way too many lows.

Standout Tracks: “Keep That Same Energy” and “Thug Life Again”

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑 (5/10)