“Da Polo King” was released early in 2009 and came as a mixtape from Young Dro, a rapper signed to T.I.’s Grand Hustle record label. It finds that the Atlanta rapper out of the Westside of the city (Zone 1) backed by DJ Messiah and a few other rappers who help him along the way to come up with the goods.
1. “Black Boy White Boy Swag” (Intro)
2. “Ready For Dro” (Lude)
3. “Up Thru There”
After a short introduction and a quick go on John Legend’s “Green Light”, you see tha there he is joined by the Hood Rock act the Shop Boyz (famed for their hit in 2007 entitled “Party Like A Rock Star”) and it seems to make for a great link up as this one gets a massive Bankhead line-up, all of whom wish to represent their ends of A-Town as hard as they can on beats which the area is know for.
**Five Stars**
4. “We Can Do It”
As things move on with this one you see that here you get a light one from him that appears to calm down the sorts of things that had come prior to it as here you see that he changes direction of the music and here gives a list of suggestions as to where he would like to ‘do it’ with his girl. It is a gentle one, and it seems to do the job well as he pulls it all together nicely and makes for a track that shows an extra level to his music.
**Four Stars**
5. “I’m High”
In what can be said to a very straight-forward track (look at the title alone
to get this form it) and I felt that as it is seen to have so little going on within it, it is easy to criticise it, but you find that here he ensures that it shows he’s skill at rapping as he jumps on some of the hardest beats that you get on the mixtape and the force you right in through the power that they exert as you feel the bass and slaps of the drum machine to give it some added depth.
**Four Stars**
6. “Party” (Lude)
7. “Fruity”
After a quick part y tune, you see that here he gets backed to much more well-developed material with this one as you see that here he comes through with a track that has him returning to themes of him being taken elsewhere with the kind of cannabis he can get his hands on and he does it all with both Ace Boon Coon and Rick Ross do a hardcore tune that sits as one of the best that the things offers.
**Five Stars**
8. “The Bag Man”
Here he gets more help form underground rappers and it seems to help him out a bit more as he gets into this one and he jumps on beats which bring back the kind of powerful Crunk material coming out of Atlanta from around 2004 and 2005 effectively and seem to pull out another tune that is bound to appeal to those who are looking to get a deep street sound as he bring of his Trap-Rap material.
**Four Stars**
9. “Rats”
Here you get some decent beats on this one, but it must be said that there aren’t anywhere near capable of saving a track that has some very plain rhymes from Yung L.A. and Dro here as they flow about things which I really had no clue about and repeat it to the point that it seems like a waste of time in listening to it. It is the weakest track up to this point on the mixtape and brings it down massively.
**Two Stars**
10. “F**k Y’All” (Lude)
11. “Take Off”
Following what was a nice, short one from him, you see that here you get more of the raw Crunk stuff coming here as he gets on beats that take on the Lil’ Jon style that was seen from around 1999, and was prominent until 2006 and I felt that with such connotations, it means that it forces you, as the listener, into being made to fell as if you are in the club setting that he appears to be in as he does it.
**Five Stars**
12. “House On Dro”
Here you see a listen Hood Rock form him as he shows that there’s a but more depth in his work than just the general Gangsta Rap in the Dirty South style. It is a banger of a jam and one that uses some powerful Hard Rock to give it what is required to come out with the most effective overall track. I felt that it was one of the biggest on the mixtape and deserves a lot of attention for what you get from it.
**Five Stars**
13. “Patnas”
Here you see that he jumps on The Rich Kids’ “My Patna Dem” beats and delivers his own verse to help out the up-and comers on a track that takes on a very similar structure to what you get on Hot Stylz’ “Lookin’ Boy” where it is very easy to criticise its simplicity, but does all you want a heavy club banger in the Dirty South to do and so as he reps Bankhead hard with these, it is a good one to include.
**Five Stars**
14. “Let’s Get It”
Featuring Lil’ 3rd, this is a fresh tune that is seen to keep the high standard of things rolling through as he gets down to things and to come out with just what is needed to make the biggest impact upon the listeners as he does on that is designed simply to hype people up with as one to play before you go out. It doesn’t really have much to it, but I wouldn’t call it a weak track for this slight issue alone.
**Four Stars**
15. “Ain’t I” (Remix)
In a remix to the T.I. track that hit directly towards Shawty Lo, in this one you see that Young Dro comes to join Tip and also Red Cafe this time around to give it a bit more variety to it. You find that here Red Cafe does nothing but work off the title to his breakthrough track whilst the other two attempt to branch things out (and even ignore the fact that the original was there as a straight diss joint).
**Four Stars**
16. “Checkin’ My Fresh”
Here you get a little more East Coast influence as here you see that you get a track that samples Jay-Z’s “Jockin’ Jay-Z” and has Maino coming to rap with him on a rough tune that seems to get him showing how things are done in the Dirty South through the swag that he has and is able to give off once it has been witnessed by another. It goes hard and I would say it is amongst the best on here.
**Five Stars**
17. “2 am”
Here you see that you get him on top of fly beats that I felt shared similarities to the Collipark-produced “Whisper Song” from the Ying Yang Twins and it seem to make for a tune that has some mainstream appeal in its structure and the way that he links up with some female R&B talent to make for a tune that is well-rounded in just about everything that it does and seem to have a great deal of originality shown through the beats.
**Five Stars**
18. “Man In The Trunk” (Lude)
19. “What Up”
Coming off a short one, you see that another that really doesn’t have too much occurring within it, when you consider the fact that it lasts just over a minute and you see that here as he ends the mixtape off he brings a track that has him packing in as much as he possibly can as a final effort to make an impact and show what potential he has for future material, especially when it comes to the street side of things.
**Four Stars**
Although there is one clearly weak track and a few that feature lyrics that few are likely to be impressed by, I felt that on the whole this was a strong release from Young Dro and one that showcases his talent well and shows a fair but of progression since his 2006 breakthrough with “Shoulder Lean”.
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