Mixtape Review: Meekz Continues His Rise On ‘Respect The Come Up’

Meekz Manny is in the form of his life right now. Last year saw him deliver an incredible feature on Dave’s ‘In The Fire’, accompanied by an all-star line up which saw him perform at the Brits. The Manchester native has lived up to the early expectations of his fledgling career, and fresh off of dropping one of the best Daily Duppys of 2022, Meekz has come through with his debut mixtape, ‘Respect The Come Up’. The tape embodies everything that Meekz is about as an artist, detailing a no holds barred account of the struggles he has faced, whilst also acknowledging the successes that his journey has brought to him along the way.

The ten song project kicks off with ‘Say Less’, a piano driven track that allows Meekz to express his come up with effortless flows. The distorted effect on his vocals at the start of the track allows the artist to effectively go back to back with himself, while toward the end of the track he raps, ‘I ain’t gotta send a text to make a pack flip, selling Tic Tacs is how I learnt my tactics’. This flows perfectly into ‘Respect The Come Up’, the titular track and one of the lead singles to the tape. The aspirational intro is backed up by a powerful hook across a backing led by pitched up vocals and soft keys.

The two features on this mixtape come back to back, as Meekz calls on the services of UK heavyweights Dave and Central Cee. Both of these artists are certainly two of the biggest in the game right now, and this is thus demonstrative of the respect and credibility that Meekz holds within the UK scene. ‘Fresh Out The Bank’ with Dave sees both rappers trade verses before going back and forth towards the end of the track. Dave exudes confidence and the two artists have already shown their chemistry together, although the hook on this one leaves a little to be desired. Central Cee’s contributions on ‘Don’t Like Drill’ however creates one of the highlights of the project. Meekz is at his ferocious best on this track, rapping, ‘Most of these so called drillers are soggy, I need more for me I’m not sorry.’ Cench complements his counterpart well, matching his energy and unleashing a tirade of fast flows at the start of his verse. 

The record really comes into its own towards the back end, with ‘Hustler’s Ambition’ and ‘Patience’ offering some of the stand out moments on the tape. ‘Hustler’s Ambition’ comes with a rich instrumental, amplified by soulful guitar riffs and saxophone samples, while ‘Patience’ also leans into the guitar-led sound, reminiscent of golden era 50 Cent. Meekz sounds more than comfortable on both beats and delivers some of his best performances on these tracks. ‘Take Losses’ features an unexpected intro from fellow northerner Tyson Fury, while the outro track, ‘Instagram Caption’, closes the tape with another opulent beat that allows the artist to detail the journey so far and his next steps.

‘Respect The Come Up’ is a more than solid debut project from Meekz. The masked man from Manchester continues to establish himself as one of the more exciting rappers coming up in the UK scene, and delivers for the most part across the ten-strong tracklist. The features on the project demonstrate how highly he is rated within the rap game, while he also shows throughout the tape that he can deliver on his own, without the necessity for hooks from featured artists. The choices in terms of production breathe life into the tape, and for a debut outing Meekz can be satisfied that he has delivered on his early promise, whilst there still being room to grow when album time comes around. 

Rating: 3.5/5