Having dropped the ‘Manny’ suffix for a more streamlined new era, Manchester’s latest hero, Meekz, kicks off this new chapter with his latest project, Respect The Come Up.
It’s not just his moniker that’s trim—he’s aso kept the tracklist pared down to just 10 tracks, and there are only two features here: Central Cee, who brings some of that Atlantic-hopping energy on “Don’t Like Drill”, and Dave, who returns the favour after their historic “In The Fire” collab with a stellar couple of verses on “Fresh Out The Bank”. Even on the production front, he’s kept it to a relatively tight team, sourcing beats from Chucks, M1OnTheBeat, Riddle, Honeywoodsix, Elevated, Clon3z, Essay Beats, Hazard and 5ive Beatz.
To celebrate the release, he also released visuals for opening track “Say Less”. Directed by KC Locke, the wild visual tracks Meekz and the team on a Mad Max-style road trip through the country with some death-defying shots of the Mancunian rhymer hanging out the windows with the wind in his bally.
The new project—his first since 2020’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop EP—also signposts what the Meekz sound will be from this point on. Drill’s still a present element, but as he explains on “Don’t Like Drill”, he has a somewhat complicated relationship with the sound. He’s not turning his back on it completely, but this is a rap tape first and foremost. There are flashes of G-funk on the title track, road rap surges through much of the tape, and there’s even an echo of the iconic “Stay Schemin’” hook on “More Money”.
Peep the visuals for “Say Less” at the mid-point, and then jump into the full project below.
