With the amount of popularity hip-hop has received in recent years, it’s easy for artists to go unnoticed or become unappreciated. Meek Mill found himself in the spotlight in 2015 by being involved in a rivalry with hip-hop superstar Drake. In 2017, after violating a parole agreement he received ten years prior (one that had been widely-disputed), Mill was in prison for over a year until April 2018. It seemed his music stopped receiving the large amount of attention it had garnered in 2015 and 2016. In November, he dropped his first project since being released from prison, titled Championships. Its reception shows all it took was one album to reinstate Mill as a polarizing artist in the genre.

The 19-track album has been heralded as one of the best hip-hop albums of 2018, and I could not agree more. Although he does not hide from his iconic loud voice, he uses diverse vocals throughout. Mill is known for a very aggressive trap sound in most of his music; while he includes that style, he also includes old-school flows and more melodic vocals in Championships.

He puts substance into his lyrics, having a new bone to pick with the justice system that had him tied up for a decade. Throughout the album, Mill mentions his time locked-up and voices his opinions on his sentencing. In What’s Free, he dives into the idea of true freedom and questions if African-Americans are actually free in a post-segregation America. Since his release from prison, Mill has become a major advocate for justice system reform.

The project includes an abundance of features, and the majority of them are celebrated artists. Drake, Jay Z and Future are just a few of the artists who brought their talents to Championships.

I enjoyed every song on the album, with Going Bad, What’s Free and Trauma being the high points for me. The only major critique I have is the album can get slightly boring while listening to it straight through. It seems Mill had something to prove this time around. 9/10.