Amidst a truly challenging period of Earl Sweatshirt withdrawal, I lucked into hearing Lucki for the first time on an episode of 'Stay Inside' with Earl Sweatshirt & Knxledge. About 15 minutes into the episode Earl Sweatshirt played a Lucki Freewave freestyle, and I was immediately interested; Earl followed that up with three more songs from Lucki, and I was hooked to the young Chicago rapper.
One of the qualities I was drawn to most was the fact that Lucki knew what exactly what type of artist he was and never strayed from it. In fact, Lucki has known what type of artist he was since the debut of his appropriately-titled project "Alternative Trap" in 2013. The production and round-the-clock drug references would place Lucki into the trap artist category, but as soon as that signature monotone delivery comes through the speaker everyone starts asking, "who's on the aux?"
The days of being shunned for putting Lucki on the aux are over. Post-Freewave 3, a Lucki aux appearance will only be met with quiet Shazams and lyric searches.
"They fuck with me off strength, fuck the politics," is the first line off of Freewave 3, letting anyone who listens to the project know it's going to be done exactly how Lucki wants it. That freedom led to the creation of a monotone, depressive, drug-filled listening experience.
The Good
The acceptance of short projects into the mainstream is a real love-hate relationship.
On one hand, short projects like Kanye West's 24 minute-long Ye, feels like an artist is being cut off right when they're hitting their creative stride. On the other hand, there are projects like Earl Sweatshirt's 25-minute Some Rap Songs and Pusha T's 21-minute Daytona that give the artist just enough time to display what they do best while cutting off the possibility of boring the audience with anything repetitive.
Clocking in at 15 songs for a total of 30 minutes, Freewave 3 is in the latter category of that love-hate relationship. The short structure of the album allows Lucki to stay comfortable in his vocal delivery and subject matter, while also keeping the listener engaged in the hazy experience as each song lasts just long enough to become a fan, but not long enough for it to get old. Insert Batman quote:
The next positive is another trend of the current state of music, but this one is strictly met with love from me. No features.
Before the play button is even pressed or any "y'all sleeping on [insert song that came out five minutes ago]" tweet, any artist with big name relationships that is creatively brave enough to put out a project with no features automatically has me on their side. Creating an entire work of art solely dependent on just your words is impressive. The overdoing of J Cole memes have made it more cringe than applaud-worthy recently, but it still holds weight.
With no guest features, Lucki dictates the mood of Freewave 3 from "Politics" to "3D Outro". That mood may be heavily assisted by Percocet, but it is ever-present. The entire project feels like a hazy mix curated by the mind of Lucki and the helpful hands of prescription medicine. The creation from this man-drug duo acts as an audible daze to whoever listens and creates an half-hour-long battle between the feeling of hype that trap creates and the anesthetized state that Lucki puts listeners in.
The last positive of a project almost devoid of negatives is the production. CHASETHEMONEY produced about one-third of the project, and Earl Sweatshirt produced the most impressive track not titled "2012 Summer"--"All In".
The Bad
The bad of Freewave 3 has little to do with Lucki and a lot to do with addiction. From the opening track, Lucki talks about his inability to give up drugs, and he follows through on that theme on all of the 15 tracks that make up the third installment of the Freewave series. At one point he goes as far as describing how he has to keep a picture of his grandmother near him just so he can combat the urge to use.
Addiction has been an element throughout the Chicago rapper's career, evidenced by the significant time taken off in 2017 to battle it and the references of his fan's and family member's disapproval on tracks like "Peach Dream" when he talks about his mom Googling lean and kidney effects. As he details the stomach pain lean causes on "Interlude", Lucki knows the drugs he does are harmful, but he praises them as "what [he] needs to create something out of nothing," on "Let's See".
Lucki is right; he and the drugs of his choice made a great experience in Freewave 3, but that experience will lose its luster if it has to be revisited as an ignored cry for help years later.
The Verdict
Due to equally parts Chance the Rapper and the Bible, the number three carries a natural level of positive light. Freewave 3 darkens that light but keeps the warm feeling that comes along with it. Through 30 minutes of featureless heavily-sedated Lucki, Freewave 3 is exactly what a music project should be-- an experience synonymous with the mind of its creator. The only quality holding the project back is the battle between the celebration that something of its level deserves and the reinforcing of negative behavior that the celebration naturally results in. Hopefully, Lucki isn't as deeply involved with the drugs he highlights.
The Score: Low 8/10