“Me Vs. Myself” is A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s fourth studio album. Released December 9, 2022, the album was one of last year’s final exciting drops. As the title suggests, the release is grounded in the concept of internal conflict. The New York rapper delivers an album with plenty of great features including Roddy Richh, Tory Lanez, Kodak Black, G Herbo, Lil Durk, Don Q, and H.E.R. The album instantly shot up to top 10 on the Billboard 200 upon its debut.
The release follows A Boogie’s previous album “Artist 2.0” two years later. That album had achieved a platinum selling status, so a high standard was set. Nevertheless, A Boogie did not disappoint. NYS Music writes, “The 21-track project features heavy hitters from the hip hop and r&b world.” The album maintains A Boogie’s classic themes established in his debut album “Artist” yet remains fresh throughout. These familiar concepts portray the persona of a young man who has made it in the rap world yet still faces personal and social struggles.
One track on this album that is especially exciting is “Water (Drowning Pt. 2).” This song serves as a sequel to 2017 hit “Drowning.” NYS Music explains “A Boogie will look to replicate the success of the record which spent nearly 30 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and went 7X platinum.” Featuring rapper Kodak Black, the song successfully continues motifs presented in the original while building new ideas. The song preserves the in the feels sound that made the original so successful, yet maintains a refreshing and new vibe.
Reflecting on Direction
A Boogie faced an overwhelming incident while working on “Me vs. Myself.” The artist saw his mother get injured due to a raid including 16 SWAT officers in his New Jersey home. She rushed down the stairs and rolled her ankle. Billboard writes “Following the incident, Boogie reflected on the direction of his career and realized he needed clarity to help remove the turmoil away from his life. Isolation became essential to his growth as he took a hiatus from releasing music and honed in on his latest album, Me vs. Myself.”
The events leading up to A Boogie’s latest release suggest the reasoning behind the theme of self reflection and internal conflict. The album serves as an outlet for A Boogie to express the emotions that he has been going through, especially following a period of isolation. Tracks like “Man in the Mirror” and “Bounce Back” especially build on this emotional concept. The lyricism in these tracks set the mood, yet the instrumentals and A Boogie’s style are catchy and make the listener want to dance.
“Me vs. Myself” is a powerful album. A Boogie delivers a release stacked with great features, solid thematic development, and a balance of calmer selections as well as hype tracks. The backstory of A Boogie’s struggles prior to and during the creation of this project adds to its depth and provides insight into the themes presented. The album is a great listen for any fan of rap.
Andrew Shulov for Slay Sonics