Atlanta rapper/singer
Derez De'Shon had a breakthrough hit with "Hardaway," a tuneful struggle anthem from his 2017 sleeper mixtape
Pain. That song put
De'Shon on the map with its melancholy piano loop, catchy crooned chorus, and lyrics about rising up from poverty and heartbreak to fame and fortune.
Pain 2 follows his introductory mixtape and mostly tends towards the same elements that made "Hardaway" connect with listeners. "Pain" is an appropriate running theme for
De'Shon's music, as most of the songs on
Pain 2 center around fake friends, remembering days of hardship coming up and, more than with its predecessor, failed relationships. This time around
De'Shon is joined by a host of acclaimed guests. On lamenting R&B/trap banger "Reasonz",
Lil Durk spits fiery verses alongside
De'Shon, both pondering who they can trust as the money piles up. "Need Some Mo" looks at problems trying to make ends meet and provide for family without turning to the temptation of street life, with
Lil Baby dropping in to help with the hook. Features throughout
Pain 2 are high-profile, but even great performances from
Mozzy,
Moneybagg Yo and others don't outshine the project as a whole. Autotuned sung vocals, troubled rhymes, and beats somewhere between moody R&B and light trap contribute to the majority of the songs, giving
Pain 2 a consistency and the feeling of a larger overall statement. "Beat the Odds" comes closest to the same immediate hookiness of "Hardaway", but sounds more like a rewrite of the hit rather than a new chapter (even though a feature from
YFN Lucci shakes up the formula a bit).
Pain 2 continues from where
Pain left off more than evolving
Derez De'Shon's abilities, but it's an excellent collection of tracks that further establishes his multi-angled approach. As a mixtape,
Pain 2 is excellent and sets the scene nicely for a proper studio album. ~ Fred Thomas