With a whopping 36 songs and features from several relevant rappers such as Gunna, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Travis Scott and Migos, Quality Control’s “Control The Streets Volume 2” was one of the most highly anticipated hip-hop albums of the year. After their breakout album, “Control The Streets,” released in Dec. of 2017, the thought of a 36-song album that failed to produce seemed impossible, yet this is exactly what happened. 

Throughout the near two-hour listening experience, the album never encouraged me to take out my headphones—although I did have to take a few breaks for the sake of my ears––yet rarely did it have me eager for the next song. The tracks seemed to lack the certain catchy phrase, unique beat or unorthodox flow present in most successful hip-hop songs, and as a result, it made the album just another mediocre tracklist that could be quickly forgotten. 

But of course, on a 36-song album with big-name features and production from Metro Boomin, Southside, Pi’erre Bourne, Murda Beatz, Wheezy, Mustard, Tay Keith and many others, the album was bound to triumph in some aspects. Songs such as “Leave Em Alone,” “Bless Em” and “Baby” gave the album some credibility and ultimately saved it from being an utter failure. 

“Leave Em Alone” begins and ends with the soft, high-pitched voice of Layton Greene, a fairly unknown artist before the album’s release, which pairs perfectly with the deeper vocals of Lil Baby and PnB Rock. Yet above all, the strange beat, which incorporates a sci-fi-like backing with differing paces for each artist, makes the song a perfect option for an exhilarating car ride or party. 

Another successful upbeat song is “Bless Em,” featuring Takeoff and Travis Scott. The song’s quick pace, clever ad-libs and catchy bars such as, “On Instagram Live, updates every second,” and “I shed a tear every time I smoke, ’cause I roll like the onion,” make the song perfect for working out or general motivation. The beginning of the song slowly becomes repetitive in its lyrics and pace, yet just as you are about to skip to the next song, Scott enters and transforms the track from sub-par to a record hit. 

Reaching the Billboard Hot 100 at number 24, “Baby,” featuring––you guessed it––Lil Baby and DaBaby, is the highlight of the album. When I first saw the song and who it featured, I thought little of it, as the styles of Lil Baby and DaBaby are polar opposites; Lil Baby follows a style similar to mumble rap and DaBaby focuses on clarity and lyrical sophistication. After giving it a listen, I realized my prior beliefs were misguided, as their differing styles turned out to complement each other well. 

If you are planning on setting aside roughly two hours to give the album a listen, speaking from experience, I highly discourage it. The quality was not at all reflective of the big-name features and producers that worked on the project. Instead of putting your eardrums through that tumultuous experience, I suggest listening only to the songs listed above or any others that catch your attention.