At first glance, the title of Meek Mill's new album seemed to be a sign of the music that was to come. Meek's been one of the most tirelessly grinding rappers in the game ever since he shout-rapped his way onto the Philly scene (and then onto Rick Ross' radar), and although he's obviously become wealthy off the music, you never see him out here chasing endorsements or sleepwalking through guest verses on pop songs. In theory, Dreams Worth More Than Money seems to perfectly encapsulate his mentality, but on paper, it's a different story.
Much like Big Sean's Dark Sky Paradise, another make-or-break album that was billed as "serious" and/or "introspective," DWMTM's mentions of wealth far exceed those of every other topic it addresses (in Sean's case, he rapped about money 61 times, far more than the 18 times he talked family, or the 15 times he focused on bottle-popping). After a few listens, Meek's album's name seems like little more than a sly way to incorporate his Dreamchasers movement into another one of his titles-- And he didn't even include moneymaking anthem "Monster" on the album!
Obviously, we still think the album is dope, but here are fifteen instances that made us question the accuracy of the phrase "Dreams Worth More Than Money."
Lord Knows
"Lord knows I'm filthy rich
All this ice is like 50 bricks
Rap niggas throwing hissy fits
I give my bitch a stack just for a Christmas gift"
And those are the first bars of the first verse on the album...
Classic
"The money turned your bitch into a gold digger
The money got me feeling like the old Jigga"
The first of a few money-centric lines on this album cut.
Classic
"Went to buy a pair of sneaks, landed at the Royce dealer
Brand new paper tag, haters never made me mad
You can ask your baby momma, I’m flyer than her baby dad
Looking at my neck, what that cost? Hundred-eighty cash"
But what about the baby dad's dreams? What are those worth?
Classic
"We don’t chase bitches, we chase money and that D'ussé
Cause when you get money, the hoes do whatever you say"
Do these "hoes" act similarly when you just have dreams or nah?
All Eyes On You
"She was the baddest, I was the realest
We was the flyest, up in the building
We was countin' this money, lovin' the feelin’"
Meek + Nicki = a lot of dollars. *Young Scooter voice* Count up!
The Trillest
"Money made me iller, already was realer"
Along with "Ambitionz," "The Trillest" is one of the few songs that warns of the pitfalls of money, but there's still the occasional bar like this. We have to ask though, is illness > realness, or is it the other way around?
The Trillest
"Got that buy it all money, fuck I need a note for!?
In them school hallways, 'fuck I need a note for!?'"
Money > dreams > hall passes.
The Trillest
"When I made my first mil, I was like "it's on now"
Then I made my second mil, money on the floor now
Then I made my third mil, I'm like "I need more now"
I got in my zone and that money started pourin’ down"
Really? You need more now?
R.I.C.O.
"Today I woke up with my dream girl she as rich as a Beatle
For my teachers that said I wouldn't make it here
I spend a day what you make a year"
Bonus points for repping Minaj's money, and even more for the diss of the year to Mrs. Moskowitz from fourth grade.
R.I.C.O.
"We came up from nothing we started on list's most wanted, but now its the Forbes list"
He had to flex with Cash Cow Drizzy also on the track.
Check
"I've been counting all this money with my brothers
And I'mma get money motherfucker"
Gotta give it to Meek, he certainly raps a lot about spreading love the DREAMCHA$ER$ way.
Check
"Count up that money they know we balling for sure
We stack them fifties and hundreds and leave the ones on the floor"
You know, you could just go the strip club route and sweep those off the floor...
Been That
"I got money all in my mind ho
What do you think think I grind for?"
Well, it certainly isn't those dreams.
Stand Up
"Half rack, we got more ghosts than Pac-Man
And for that paper we be grindin' like a lap dance"
What would you do for a Klondike?
Cold Hearted
"Last year was like a bad year
Even though I touched more paper than a cashier"
Even amid Diddy's "money fucked up my relationship with my family" monologue, Meek's still telling us that his bad days are more lavish than our best.