Steve 'Flash' JuonAs always one love to the Render family on the passing of Lil Keed at only 24 years old. His younger brother Lil Gotit continues to shine on his behalf, so today we’ll look at his self-released album “Shut the Door, Nobody Listening.” It’s a surprise to me he did this one independently since last time Alamo Records and Sony Music were behind him, but it is what it is. It doesn’t take too long before we hear from both Render brothers on “Twisting Our Fingers” featuring fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug.
Pi’erre Bourne gives this one the candy coated production of a major label release, complete with a bass bottom guaranteed to disturb the suburbs, and the sing-song delivery of all parties is modern day Atlanta rap to a tee. It’s a fitting tribute to Keed by taking a formula known to work and keeping his name in the public eye for a little bit longer. The number of times or amount of material they can use to put Keed out there may ultimately have limits, as evidenced by a remix of “Love Me Again” being the only other appearance from him on this album. Both rappers end up being robbed of the spotlight by Mariah the Scientist doing her best impression of SZA.
The Kid Hazel & Jonas Lee laced “Drippin in Spider” personifies the vibes of this release. Lil Gotit could hit the streets with a jackhammer and not break any new ground, but he’s not trying to. One could argue the Atlanta sound calcified around the chart topping vibes of Future and Migos, but one can also recognize the hypnotic trance the slick song’s head bopping beat and melody creates. You already know the topics too — I’m hot, I’m worth a lot, I’ve got a lot of haters, and I’ve got plenty of ammunition if they try to mess with me.
“Hundred K on my neck, better hit with no flash
Jeweler play with me, I get on his ass
I know you ain’t shoppin, you checkin the tag
You ain’t no shooter, your blick in your bag”
“Fuck the camera, I don’t need no backup” quips Gotit. Let’s hope that bravado isn’t tested. We’ve lost his brother already and I’m in no hurry to lose Gotit too. Matter of fact in this economy and with the current government in charge, I’d call this an “all hands on deck” situation. Taking down people you’re envious of won’t pull you up in their absence — the scales don’t balance that way. If you don’t like what Gotit has to say, keep it on records or mixtapes. I can’t say he’s not rubbing it in on songs like “Ferrari Striker” though. “Paid all cash, car came with a title.” There are very few people who can flex like that. “I’m like N.W.A, I don’t give a fuck.” Okay Semaja, we get it.
“Shut the Door, Nobody Listening” might be loaded with sentiments I don’t endorse and a lifestyle that’s impossible to imitate, but I don’t hate it. Lil Gotit tries harder than the average rapper in his lane, sporting a clear diction without being overly reliant on studio trickery to improve his delivery. It’s musical, but it’s not completely computerized. There’s an undercurrent of self-reflection and thoughtfulness to songs like “A Lot of Shit Changed” you wouldn’t expect in this field. I used the word “calcified” earlier but it doesn’t apply to Gotit nearly as well as his peers, because he sounds capable of growth and improvement.
That room for improvement should help explain why this album didn’t receive a higher score. Far too often people react to the score and ignore the words, but hear me out please, 52 minutes was just a bit too much to rate it any higher. There are good individual tracks, Gotit is a better than average emcee, but being more selective and paring this album down to a half hour would have raised his totals. The topic matter becomes a little too repetitive after almost one hour straight listening to it. This is one to work on for Mr. Render. The score doesn’t mean he’s bad, it means he can do better.