A year after his debut mixtape
King of Killbranch reached number 13 on the Billboard 200, Memphis rapper
BIG30 released the Interscope-backed studio album
Last Man Standing. While his previous release was loaded with features from major names like
Yo Gotti and
Future, this album is much more of a true solo effort, with fewer guests, most of which are past collaborators and close friends. A bit darker and more aggressive than
King of Killbranch,
Last Man Standing is frontloaded with hard, violent tracks, switching the mood up with the sexually inclined diversion "Uh Huh" (with
ATL Jacob) and the bone-chilling "Scared of Us" (featuring
Hotboii), one of
BIG30's most melodic songs. Constant cries of "Free Shiesty" are heard throughout the album, as
BIG30's longtime cohort
Pooh Shiesty was sentenced to five years in prison earlier in 2022; the rapper's only appearance on the release is a spoken outro to the stark, melancholy "Crying."
BIG30's signature "blrrrd" ad-libs get tiring pretty quickly, but his verses and subject matter are often startling, and the production is just as haunting.
Last Man Standing debuted just outside of the top half of the Billboard 200. ~ Paul Simpson