This is the 6th studio LP from Buffalo, New York rapper Streets Soprano. Signing to Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records, he would go on to drop 5 full-lengths as well as a couple EPs & a mixtape for the label including Damn: Nothing Last Forever. or the U Hear Me? duology. He also teamed up with Heckler this past 4th of July for the collaborative EP Birth of a Dynasty which was alright to me personally with no disrespect intended towards Heckler at all, but a couple of his B$F brethren appearing on Success or Death had me more intrigued.
“More Integrity, Less Pride” featuring Rick Hyde starts by sampling “She Said She Loves Me” by Kleeer with both of them offering some good advice to artists in general today whereas “Loyalty Worth More Than Money” continues the thoughtful concepts over some strings. “Game in a Frenzy” takes a more hardcore approach altogether talking about trusting nobody leading into “Potent as Dopamine” featuring Heckler finds the 2 talking about the way they keep their music hittin’ powerfully.
Fuego Base appears on “Trap House Way” kicking off the 2nd half giving us the type of shit that would make the block hot while “Gangster & a Thug” featuring Heckler reunites the pair over a boom bap instrumental talking about shit being the way it is because it’s mud mixed with blood. “Art of Patience” blends some bells & a vocal sample venting that nobody knows what he’s been through since he doesn’t show it while “See My Pain” ends Success or Death in the form of this boom bap outro talking about this game not coming with much guidance.
Coming off his Off the Radar freestyle a few weeks earlier, the Trust Nobody Music Group founder & Black Soprano Family member’s first solo effort in a couple years has to be the most I’ve enjoyed something he’s put out since Damn: Nothing Last Forever. maybe. There’s a feature on pretty much half of Success or Death compared to U Hear Me? 2, spending a couple moments recapturing Birth of a Dynasty’s chemistry or rockin’ it with some of B$F’s biggest acts for Street Soprano’s most lyrical ambitious opus.
Score: 7/10
