2021 studio album by Meek Mill
Expensive Pain is the fifth
studio album by American rapper
Meek Mill . It was released on October 1, 2021, through
Atlantic Records And
Maybach Music Group . The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including
Boi-1da ,
Tay Keith ,
Vinylz ,
30 Roc ,
Cardo and
Sevn Thomas among others. The album also features guest appearances from
Lil Baby ,
Lil Durk ,
Kehlani ,
ASAP Ferg ,
Moneybagg Yo ,
Giggs ,
Young Thug ,
Vory ,
Lil Uzi Vert , and
Brent Faiyaz .
[1]
Expensive Pain was supported by three singles: "Flamerz Flow", "
Sharing Locations " and "
Blue Notes 2 ". The album received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics, and was a commercial success. It debuted at number three on the US
Billboard 200 chart, earning 95,000
album-equivalent units in its first week.
[2]
Release and promotion
Meek announced the album, cover art, and release date on September 15, 2021.
[3] He revealed the tracklist on September 30, the day before the album was released.
[4] The album cover art was made by modern artist
Nina Chanel Abney .
[5]
Singles
Three singles preceded the album's release. "Flamerz Flow" is a bonus track, and it was released with a music video on May 31, 2021, to his YouTube channel, being officially released three days later.
[6] "
Sharing Locations " featuring
Lil Baby and
Lil Durk was released on August 27 with a video as the second single.
[7] Then "
Blue Notes 2 " featuring
Lil Uzi Vert was the third single, released with a video five days later and performed live on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on September 21.
[8]
[9]
Critical reception
Expensive Pain was met with generally mixed to positive reviews. At
Metacritic , which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an
average score of 64, indicating “generally favorable reviews”, based on six reviews.
[10]
A.D. Amorosi of
Variety praised Meek's progression with this effort calling "Expensive Pain Mill’s best, most fully rounded recorded effort: an album that finally portrays all sides of the rapper’s rise, fall, struggles and revivals, to say nothing of his skills as a writer and as an aggressive flow-acist." He also prasied Mill's braggadocios approach to many of the songs on the project, saying that "Mill comes out with hope and real brio on his side – a confidence that goes way beyond any mere humble-brag or boast."
[16]
Commercial performance
Expensive Pain debuted at number three on the US
Billboard 200 chart, earning 95,000
album-equivalent units (including 10,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.
[2] This became Meek Mill's fifth US top-ten debut on the chart.
[2] The album also accumulated a total of 110.53 million on-demand streams from the songs on the project.
[2] In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning an additional 46,000 units.
[17]
Track listing
Standard edition Title Writer(s) 1. "Intro (Hate on Me)" 2:55 2. "Outside (100 MPH)" R. Williams LaTour Trey Davis Dominik Patrzek 3:19 3. "On My Soul" R. Williams Anthony Cruz Eduardo Earle Adi Helic Billy Holmdahl John Lucas 2:22 4. "
Sharing Locations " (featuring
Lil Baby and
Lil Durk ) 2:41 5. "Expensive Pain" R. Williams Cruz Julius Herold Michael Holmes Vianey Mfuamba 3:34 6. "Ride for You" (featuring
Kehlani ) 3:02 7. "Me (FMW)" (featuring
ASAP Ferg ) 3:00 8. "Hot" (featuring
Moneybagg Yo ) 2:31 9. "Love Train" R. Williams Cruz Simon Gebrelul Aaron Tesfagiorgis 3:55 10. "Northside Southside" (featuring
Giggs ) 3:03 11. "We Slide" (featuring
Young Thug ) 3:31 12. "Tweaking" (featuring
Vory ) 3:17 13. "Love Money" R. Williams Cruz Earle Grant Hewlett David Weiner 3:02 14. "
Blue Notes 2 " (featuring
Lil Uzi Vert ) 3:50 15. "Angels (RIP Lil Snupe)" 3:01 16. "Cold Hearted III" 2:48 17. "Halo" (featuring
Brent Faiyaz ) 3:32 Total length: 53:23
Bonus track Title Writer(s) 18. "Flamerz Flow" 1:41 Total length: 55:04
Sample credits
"Intro (Hate on Me)" contains samples of "
Hate Me Now ", written by
Nasir Jones ,
Sean Combs and Gavin Marchand, as performed by
Nas , which itself samples
Carmina Burana , composed by
Carl Orff .
"Sharing Locations" contains uncredited samples of the
Bulgarian folk song "Чичовите конье".
"Me (FWM)" contains samples from "Bia' Bia'", written by
Jonathan Smith ,
Todd Shaw ,
Stephanie Martin and Sammie Norris, as performed by
Lil Jon .
"Blue Notes 2" is a sequel to "Blue Notes" from
DC4 , and they both sample "Midnight Blues", performed by
Snowy White .
Personnel
Meek Mill – Vocals (all tracks)
Popcaan – Vocals (1)
Sadie Kraft – Vocals (2)
Lil Baby – Vocals (4)
Lil Durk – Vocals (4)
Jena Goldsack – Vocals (5)
Kehlani – Vocals (6)
ASAP Ferg – Vocals (7)
Moneybagg Yo – Vocals (8)
Giggs – Vocals (10)
Young Thug – Vocals (11)
Vory – Vocals (12)
Lil Uzi Vert – Vocals (14)
Brent Faiyaz – Vocals (17)
Cardo – Production (1, 2, 10)
Nick Papz – Production (4, 8, 14)
Xander – Production (4, 8, 14)
Austin Powerz – Production (6, 16, 17)
Fuse – Production (3, 13)
KJ – Production (4, 8)
Boi-1da – Production (7, 12)
Yung Exclusive – Production (1)
Johnny Juliano – Production (1)
Deats – Production (2)
Yugo Getit – Production (3)
Gingr – Production (3)
JW Lucas – Production (3)
Svdominik – Production (4)
DZL – Production (5)
Sav – Production (6)
Hollywood Cole – Production (7)
Jahaan Sweet – Production (7)
Eza – Production (8)
AT – Production (9)
Gebrelul – Production (9)
Emkay – Production (10)
Tay Keith – Production (11)
Denaro Love – Production (11)
Minor2Go – Production (11)
Maneesh – Production (12)
Vinylz – Production (12)
Amore – Production (13)
Dato – Production (13)
Dougie on the Beat – Production (15)
Bkorn – Production (16)
Brent Faiyaz – Production (17)
Sevn Thomas – Production (17)
Paperboy Fabe – Production (17)
L.3.G.I.O.N. – Production (17)
30 Roc – Production (18)
Datboi Squeeze – Production (18)
Vianey OJ – Co-production (5)
Darko – Co-production (5)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
^ Blistein, Jon (September 15, 2021).
"Meek Mill Announces New Album 'Expensive Pain' With Vice-Filled Album Art" .
Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 15, 2021 .
^
a
b
c
d Keith Caulfield (October 10, 2021).
"Taylor Swift's 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 11, 2021 .
^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (September 15, 2021).
"Meek Mill Announces New Album Expensive Pain" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved September 15, 2021 .
^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (September 30, 2021).
"Meek Mill shares handwritten 'Expensive Pain' tracklist" .
Revolt . Retrieved September 30, 2021 .
^ Blanchet, Brenton (September 28, 2021).
"Meek Mill's 'Expensive Pain' Album Art Takes Over Landmarks, Major Cities Across U.S."
Complex Networks . Retrieved August 31, 2022 .
^ Su, Sammy (June 2, 2021).
"Meek Mill Drops New "Flamerz Flow" Track and Music Video" . Hypebeast . Retrieved September 15, 2021 .
^ Richards, Will (August 27, 2021).
"Meek Mill, Lil Baby, and Lil Durk team up on new song 'Sharing Locations' " .
NME . Retrieved September 15, 2021 .
^ Gallagher, Alex (August 27, 2021).
"Meek Mill recruits Lil Uzi Vert for new single 'Blue Notes 2' " .
NME . Retrieved September 15, 2021 .
^ Zemler, Emily (September 21, 2021).
"Watch Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert Perform 'Blue Notes 2' on 'Fallon' " .
Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 21, 2021 .
^
a
b
"Expensive Pain by Meek Mill Metacritic Review" .
Metacritic . Retrieved October 4, 2021 .
^ Kellman, Andy.
"Meek Mill - Expensive Pain" .
AllMusic . Retrieved October 1, 2021 .
^ Murray, Robin (October 1, 2021).
"Meek Mill - Expensive Pain A mixed return laden with superstar turns..."
Clash . Retrieved October 3, 2021 .
^ Lavin, Will (October 4, 2021).
"Meek Mill – 'Expensive Pain' review: a rushed and haphazard fifth album" .
NME . Retrieved October 4, 2021 .
^ Green, Dylan (October 6, 2021).
"Meek Mill – 'Expensive Pain' Pitchfork review" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved October 8, 2021 .
^ Reeves, Mosi (October 4, 2021).
"Meek Mill is Both Dazzling and Disappointing on 'Expensive Pain' " .
Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 4, 2021 .
^ Amorosi, A.D. (October 1, 2021).
"Meek Mill Finds a Sweet Spot Between the Serious and Superficial With 'Expensive Pain': Album Review" .
Variety . Retrieved October 4, 2021 .
^ Keith Caulfield (October 17, 2021).
"Drake's 'Certified Lover Boy' Bounces Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 17, 2021 .
^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 11 October 2021". The ARIA Report . No. 1649.
Australian Recording Industry Association . October 11, 2021. p. 6.
^
"Ultratop.be – Meek Mill – Expensive Pain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
^
"Ultratop.be – Meek Mill – Expensive Pain" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
^
"Meek Mill Chart History (Canadian Albums)" .
Billboard . Retrieved October 12, 2021.
^
"Dutchcharts.nl – Meek Mill – Expensive Pain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^
"Top Albums (Week 40, 2021)" . Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved October 11, 2021 .
^
"NZ Top 40 Albums Chart" .
Recorded Music NZ . October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021 .
^
"Album 2021 uke 40" .
VG-lista . Retrieved October 9, 2021 .
^
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^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^
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^
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^
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Billboard . Retrieved October 12, 2021.
^
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^
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021" . Billboard . Retrieved December 3, 2021 .
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