Guest Blogger: Abdi Mu2

Robert Rahmeek Williams better known as “Meek Mill” was born on May 6, 1987 in Philadelphia, PA. He adopted the name “Meek Mill” by family and friends who called him by his middle name. Growing up was hard times for Meek, by the time he was 5 years old he was orphaned. When he was 5 years old his father got shot in the streets of Philadelphia and was killed. As a single He was taken in by his grandmother and uncle Grandmaster Nell. Grandmaster Nell was a huge inspiration on Meek Mill to pursue a career in music. Meek Mill started to take rap seriously when he was 12 and began to rap battle. He only suffered on lose in his first battle to a neighborhood foe and never lost again. Meek Mill then set out and formed a rap group called the Bloodhoundz with two other local rappers. The group lasted long enough to released 4 mix-tapes. Meek parted ways with the group and embarked on a solo career. For the next 3 years he began releasing a series of mix-tapes which established a buzz in his local city. His next step was huge; in 2011 he collaborated with Miami rapper Rick Ross on a song called “Rose Red” which later turned to Ross signing Meek Mill to his record label Maybach Music. He was official signed to MMG in February 2011. Meek Mill released 2 mix-tapes that set the ground work for his highly anticipated debut album Dreams and Nightmares. The Series of platinum tapes; Dreamchasers and Dreamchasers 2 were highly successful. The feel of Dreams and Nightmares evokes emotions of pain, anger, and triumph. With songs of the album like “Traumatized” and “Young and Getting It” you can understand the feel of his music. In the song “Traumatized” meek speaks very clearly and aggressive as he seeks revenge for his father by threading his killer with his life. You can feel the anger and pain in his voice as he smashes the beat. In contrast, in the song “Young and Getting It” Meek speaks to his triumph of being young and having the amount of success he has had so far. In my opinion the only comparable well known artist is T.I., because they both have the same fierce and cut-throat style when they rap. Critics say that the album Dreams and Nightmares was decent but was a raw show of his skills. I agree with this statement because Meek doesn’t showcase his full weaponry on the album. The album seems to be set on specific theme rather than a variety of sounds like his last mix-tape DC2. I feel like he could have branched out more and reach a wider audience. My overall opinion on Meek Mill’s music is that it’s explicit but at the same time motivational. The message being that if you set a goal and work hard you can achieve. His music shows that it doesn’t matter how you start but how hard you work to get where you want to. You should support his debut album and give his music a try it’s worth the money.