Lil Pump – “Harverd Dropout” Album Review

posted February 26, 2019 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Matthew Dunn

The 18-year-old trap sensation Lil Pump has returned with his sophomore LP “Harverd Dropout,” playing off of a running joke that the artist was accepted to the Ivy League University. One would question whether the misspellings were intentional, or if Harvard simply wanted no part with the album affiliation, though neither would come as much of a shock.

Setting the tone early, Lil Pump’s content makes one think that the album is being presented to them by D.A.R.E. Through countless references of dropping out in the 10th grade, going to class on Xanax and hotboxing the school’s bathroom, the intro song “Drop Out” loses the one thing Pump had going for him, fun.

It reaches a point where it feels almost sad to listen to his subject matter; flexing wealth on prior hits like “Gucci Gang” is one thing, but dropping 10 sedatives into a bowl of wonton soup on the fourth track “ION” is barely even tongue in cheek.

The thing with “Harverd Dropout” is that, like breathing, it’s not meant to be thought about. It is music one plays if they just want to zone out for a few minutes.

Top producers such as Diablo, Danny Wolf, and CBMIX have crafted 40 minutes worth of notable production. The beats on tracks like “Racks on Racks” are so clean and structured that in bobbing ones head to the bassline the listener can forget that Pump is even present, talking about how he can “buy you coke” yet “cannot buy you food.”

There are certain songs like “Vroom Vroom Vroom” & “Off White” that are so atrociously bad one wonders how a company like Warner Bros. Records can even comprehend releasing them. The former, clearly trying to be the sister song to Comethazine’s “Bands”, falls so magnificently short in terms of replay value that if accidentally clicked on a second one might yank out their own headphones to keep from hearing a legal adult yell “Vroom” a counted 61 times in less than 2 minutes.

“Off White,” while slightly less repetitive, stills raptures up lines like “White rice, Fortnite, pew, pew, pew, red light” that should lead to his fans collectively commenting “this ain’t it” in a solemn sign of disapproval.

High points on the album come from features by Offset, Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Wayne. They allow for Pump to provide his quips early without overbearing the track, setting a decent flow on songs “Fasho Fasho” & “Multi-Millionaire” before the more acclaimed artists come in to deliver their verses. Uzi, in particular, comes in with such visceral force, quite reminiscent of his feature on Shabazz PBG’s track “Shells” that dropped in late 2018; that makes one pray he’ll still continue to drop new music in spite of recent drama.

It feels like after 3 years now the limelight is finally starting to dim, the gigs up, Lil Pump has money, designer clothes and by the way, he loves drugs. It’s a formulaic and lyrically convoluted album that doesn’t really offer as much “banger” delight that his 2017’s self-titled debut did.

Rating: 5/10

Best Tracks: “Racks on Racks” / “Butterfly Doors” / “Fasho Fasho”

Worst Tracks: “Vroom Vroom Vroom” / “Off White”

 

 

Matthew Dunn is a junior majoring in print journalism. To contact him, email mzd5424@psu.edu.