On
Pressure, the solid if routine follow-up to
Trap or Die 3, Jeezy doesn't deviate from his standard set of themes. He's still rhyming about his rise from the bottom, the product he's shifting, and all the disposable wealth and women that have come with it, all the while castigating would-be detractors and snitches. For the most part, the highlights are the tracks with the most ominous and dramatic productions, supplied by the likes of
D. Rich, P.C., Gotti Rock Solid, and Soundsmith Productions, that feature Jeezy at his most powerful. A handful of the cuts, such as the
Kendrick Lamar and
J. Cole-assisted "American Dream" and the
E-40 nod "In a Major Way," would have been better choices for a pre-release single than "Bottles Up," which is merely low-slung vamping and monotone enumeration with
Diddy on background hype-man duty. Though a fair portion of the album is unremarkable -- if only for the large quantity of similar content that preceded it -- there isn't a hint of disinterest on the part of Jeezy. ~ Andy Kellman