For as long as many people can remember, French Montana has occupied a very specific role in Hip Hop. He slots almost exclusively into the ‘single-faceted hitmaker’ category of rappers. There was a time when French could have been classified as more of a lyrical miracle spitter back in the 2000s when he was dishing out SMACK DVD freestyles and progressively through his various mixtape series.
But since most of the world got introduced to him via XXL‘s 2012 Freshmen list and the more commercial-leaning rap anthems that got him there (“Shot Caller” and “Pop That”) he’s been somewhat of a one note trap-flute. However, it would appear French has gone out of his way to dismantle this typecast curse with his latest mixtape.
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Mac & Cheese 5 is the fifth installment of the South Bronx rapper’s beloved mixtape series which first launched back in 2009. Typically, the tapes feature more potent and lyrically dense songs than the rest of French’s catalog but anything released after his Bad Boy and MMG chaining days in early 2012, saw him really lay down the pen and pick up bottles of Cîroc instead. It was a shift in image and sound that served him well in the mainstream but always left OG fans of the Coke Boy head honcho wanting more — and on this occasion, more is what they’ve been given.
The first half of the project plays like an unshakeable breath of fresh air without a mouth full of frivolous Auto-Tune. French delivers over soul sample boom bap beats as if he’s back in the BX rapping like his rent depends on it. On the first track, “Dirty Bronx Intro,” he spits bars that fire back at all the haters that have ever doubted his authenticity and place in the game.
“Stand United” with Kanye West, Buju Banton and Saint JHN sounds like it could have been a lost Gang Starr bonus track, and on “Splash Brothers,” he gets off the project’s best bars. “Devil on my heels like I’m Lil Nas X” is particularly deserving of a URL “Don Demarcooo” drop.
This isn’t to say that French Montana went full God MC mode on Mac & Cheese 5, he’s still attempting to make hit records — sometimes carelessly. “Millionaire Row” with Rick Ross and Meek Mill, plus “Okay” featuring Lil Baby are perhaps the most obvious versions of this ‘hit-record-paint-by-numbers’ formula he’s known to follow. But there are some cleverly written hit attempts that aren’t just a bunch of ad-lib and Auto-Tune porn.
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“Money Ain’t a Thing” with Lil Durk is a smooth yet snappy record that has the potential to be a summertime slapper. Not to mention “Fake Friends” with Bryson Tiller which provides a very digestible trap soul vibe that would certainly pass the ‘late night drive’ test.
Mac & Cheese 5 still has far too many “Haaaaan” ad-libs to win a Pulitzer but, with said, it will go down as one of French’s best projects in quite some time. Whether he was tired of chasing hits or simply wanted to get back to the Bronx basics, he’s gearing up for a solid second act.
RELEASE DATE: February 23, 2024
RECORD LABEL: Coke Boys Records
Listen to Mac & Cheese 5 below:
