Steve 'Flash' JuonThe fact he was looking at a possible 20 year bid wasn’t slowing down 03 Greedo one bit when he released “The Wolf of Grape Street” in 2018. In fact my first 03 review didn’t come until after he had been sentenced and was serving the first of a combined four years he’d do before earning parole. You can say whatever you want about Jason Jamal Jackson, but saying he wasn’t hustling hard would be a damn lie. He was recording and releasing music like he feared he wouldn’t see daylight again, and even when he got locked up, he still found ways to keep his career going. My admiration for that level of work ethic is high. If you’re that committed to succeeding you’ll do it despite any obstacles in your way.
That admiration for his internal drive and relentless pursuit of success doesn’t skew my view of “The Wolf of Grape Street” though. Even my regret at the cold blooded murder of PnB Rock can’t change my feelings on “Beat That Thang Down.” Let me start with the positives — a very mellow and easy to listen to track with some hypnotic finger snaps and a hook that’s easily imitable. That’s where it ends. It’s a shallow, crass, superficial ode to sexual conquests. I’m pretty sure you know what “thang” Greedo and PnB want to “beat down” without even having to listen to the track.
If you could fool yourself into thinking it was a one-off moment of male fragility exercised through obstreperous boasting about big dick energy, “Run For Yo Life” would quickly dispel such notions. 03 pitch tunes his way through repeated demeaning references to bitches from the jump. He’s immediately bragging about sleeping with somebody else’s girl while her man is behind bars (ironic) then solidifies his misogyny with “Can’t trust that bitch, so don’t trust that bitch/can’t trust that bitch, nigga don’t trust that bitch.” Well. I know a He-Man Woman Hater when I see one. “Every time you make a run for your bitch/I pull up and make her run from that dick.” Yawn.
While having guests like OMB Peezy on “100 Bands” seems on paper like a chance to diversify the presentation, being pulled into 03’s orbit here results in the narrative becoming even more rote. Every cliche of rap is found on this song — veiled threats, flashing large wads (“money in rubber bands”) and lording it over haters everywhere. If anybody questions it they’ll pull up their shirts to show what they’re holding, which unfortunately is what helped put Mr. Jackson behind bars to begin with. His career has continued successfully since his release and I hope he never goes back. No cap.
“I think I need another lawyer”
Ordinarily I would applaud a modern day rapper for an album that’s over an hour long with over 20 tracks. 03 Greedo is far from ordinary in many ways, but “The Wolf of Grape Street” makes up for that by being so ordinary in so many others. This is paint by the numbers trap. I wish I had some clever things to say I could quote you. I wish he was collaborating with someone like Kenny Beats here. I wish my admiration for how he has overcome adversity could raise my score for this album — it can’t though. Albums can either be so great or so lousy that they’re memorable, but 03 Greedo commits the cardinal sin of releasing an album so average it’s forgettable. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is.