Fetty Wap shows promising growth as an artist in mixtape ‘Zoovier’

Following the release of six songs in five days, Fetty Wap dropped his new mixtape Zoovier with no warning last Monday.

Until last week, Fetty had a pretty quiet 2016 compared to his breakout 2015. But the release of Zoovier shows Fetty trying new things with his music.

The mixtape features more hardcore trap beats and a shift away from the lighter “Trap Queen” vibe on some of the songs — this change, however, doesn’t really work for Fetty, making his lyrics challenging to understand at times.

One thing that does work on Zoovier is the presence of an almost R&B-like undertone on some songs, reminiscent of Fetty’s style on “Trap Queen.” Fetty also shows off his vocals on “Late Night Jawn,” the last song on the mixtape. On this track, the inclusion of the more melodic vocals provides contrast to the rapped verse, making it a more enjoyable part of the track.

Outside of Fetty’s vocal acrobatics on a handful of songs, the mixtape is a little dry. Many of the songs that delve more into the hardcore trap style of music don’t work because the lyrics are muddled or the beat overpowers the vocals.

“King Zoo” featuring 21 Savage and “Island Boyz” featuring Drebo and Monty are two songs that salvage the rap aspect of the album, as they provide good verses from all involved parties.

Zoovier also serves as an ode to Fetty’s squad with songs like “Friends,” which features Juugman and 4K Tayy, and “Island Boyz.” Monty is also featured on five other tracks on the mixtape.

Fetty’s recent rush of new music gives listeners a lot to choose from. Some of it works, such as “She Know” and “Shit I Like,” which serve as strong tracks in the middle and beginning of the mixtape, and some of it doesn’t work, such as “Priceless.”

Zoovier shows Fetty experimenting and growing as an artist, something that is great to see in a musician. While all of the experiments might not have stellar outcomes, the overall product is still good. There are club hits and R&B ballads on Zoovier, making Fetty an artist that we will continue to hear a lot about in the future.