Ballin Like I'm Kobe

Ballin Like I'm Kobe
Studio album by G Herbo
Released September 29, 2015[1]
Recorded 2014-15
Genre Drill, gangsta rap, hardcore hip hop, conscious hip hop
Length 1:06:04
Label Cinematic Music Group - Machine Entertainment - 150 Dream Team
Producer
  • C Sick
  • DJ L
  • DP Beats
  • Luca Vialli
  • Southside
  • Fuse
  • Don Robb Oz
  • Austin Millz
  • Young Fly
G Herbo chronology
Pistol P Project
(2014)		 Ballin Like I'm Kobe
(2015)

Ballin Like I'm Kobe is the third mixtape by American rapper G Herbo and was released on September 29, 2015.[2] The mixtape is available for purchase at iTunes[3][4] and has been downloaded over 200,000 times on Datpiff[5]

Background

After releasing his Debut Project Welcome to Fazoland, G Herbo released a surprise mixtape by the name of Pistol P Project[6] which was released in 2014 also. He then released Ballin Like I'm Kobe in 2015. The mixtape is dedicated to Herb’s fallen friend, Jacobi D. Herring.

It features production from C Sick, DJ L, DP Beats, Luca Vialli, Southside, Don Robb Oz, Austin Millz and Young Fly. It guest features Lil Bibby, The Mind, Sonta, J Tsunami and Lil Durk

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HotNewHipHop[7]
Pitchfork[8]
XXL[9]
Consequence of Sound[10]

Upon its release, Ballin Like I'm Kobe received generally positive reviews from critics.

Patrick Lyons of HotNewHipHop rated the mixtape a 86% saying "This is one of the most powerful tapes of the year, with tracks that grab you by the collar and shake you into submission with their soul-baring honesty. Every line Herb raps, whether political, violent, philosophical or (on rare occasions) celebratory, is cut with all the stress and sadness that's accumulated over 19 years. He truly sounds "19 years going on 39," as he says on highlight cut "Remember," on which he also succinctly sums up his "fuck the world" mentality to outsiders: "I'm already gonna die by the system, so why abide by the system?"[7]

Sydney Madden of XXL Magazine gave the mixtape an XL (4/5) saying "On this tape, Herb seems to be even more raw and ferocious with his flow than ever. Now with a new label to call home, Herbo comes with an enlightened sense of perspective, Herb’s Ballin Like I’m Kobe paints something pretty close to an audible masterpiece. And beauty is pain, right?"[9]

David Drake of Pitchfork gave the mixtape a 7.2/10, saying "No other song on Ballin Like I'm Kobe feels quite so one-of-a-kind. Sometimes it's pro forma; drill records like the DJ L-produced "Gang" sound as if they could have been recorded any time within the past three years. But outside of "I'm Rollin", Herbo's doesn't traffic in the kind of pioneering stylistic breakthroughs common to the first wave of drill artists—King Louie, Lil Durk, or Chief Keef. He is not drill's most versatile talent, preferring to play to his own strengths. His more traditional approach is an ability to wring narrative pathos from the song without letting his voice's cracked shell fully break. His vocal style is ragged but forceful, and in contrast with the East Coast influences to which it might be readily compared—the LOX, say—there's a sense of Herbo's words scratching past the lines, moving with a looser, less precise rhythm, as if to suggest an anxious undercurrent. And likewise, his subject matter seldom moves toward the humor of classic New York mixtape artists, preferring to shift from the autobiographical to very real-seeming threats."[8]

Consequence of Sound gave the mixtape a B+ (8.5/10), saying “You gotta be from that to understand that,” Master P said of drive-bys and stickups early on in that interview. He was talking about New Orleans, but there’s similar desperation in cities everywhere, particularly Chicago. Not everyone can relate to the specifics of Herb’s struggle; the average person hasn’t lost a forearm’s worth of names to gun violence. With an open mind, though, it’d be hard for anyone to hear BLIK and miss Herb’s desire to set a good example (give or take a few vices) for those around him. Herb illustrates a deeply human set of themes. The details within the story are what make it uniquely his.[11]

Track listing

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "L's"  C Sick 3:32
2. "Watch Me Ball"  DJ L 3:24
3. "Briks & Mansions"  DP Beats 3:06
4. "Bottom of the Bottoms"  Luca Vialli 3:30
5. "P Interlude"  DJ L 0:26
6. "Gang (In This Bitch)" (featuring Lil Bibby)DJ L 4:17
7. "100 Days 100 Nights"  Fuse 3:35
8. "Peace of Mind"  Don Robb Oz 3:02
9. "Remember" (The Mind)Austin Millz 4:06
10. "Don't Worry" (featuring Lil Bibby)C Sick 3:39
11. "Eastside"  DJ L 3:45
12. "No Limit"  DP Beats 4:33
13. "Struggle"  Young Fly 3:56
14. "Pain" (featuring Sonta and J Tsunami)DJ L 6:27
15. "Rollin"  Southside 5:12
Total length:
 56:21

References

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