The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t the only champions representing the great city of Philadelphia this year; Philly rapper Meek Mill (Robert Williams) has recently dropped his best album to date, Championships, where he discusses his hardships and his triumphant comeback. The album was released on Friday, Nov. 30, and since then it has been quite successful; it is currently sitting at the top of the Billboard 200 Albums charts.

The album cover pictures Meek Mill in a football helmet with Eagles-colored confetti falling in front of him. This resembles the championship of the Eagles and the champion-mindset of Meek Mill, both representing Philadelphia.

Championships not only includes many hit songs, but it also contains raw emotion from Meek Mill, who was just released from a six-month jail sentence. In November of 2017, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for violating probation, and he was released from jail in April of 2018. Meek Mill has been fighting the criminal justice system since 2007, and his new album highlights his newfound feeling of freedom.

The 19-track album contains a great deal of features from many big artists. Meek invited Fabolous, Anuel AA, Cardi B, Jay Z, Rick Ross, Future, Roddy Ricch, Young Thug, Kodak Black, Ella Mai, 21 Savage, Melli, Jeremih, PnB Rock, and last but not least, his former enemy Drake to contribute to the album.

The famous Drake and Meek Mill feud started in July of 2015, when Meek Mill tweeted, “Stop comparing drake to me too…. He don’t write his own raps!” This tweet started one of the largest rap beefs of this decade as many people were angry at Drake because of the rumor that he didn’t write his own songs. Drake replied with diss tracks that many people claim defeated Meek Mill. The feud went on for years, and Drake and Meek Mill took shots at each other throughout this time period.

The Drake and Meek Mill collab on the album represents an important moment for the culture of hip hop: two artists putting their differences aside and making music together. The track is one of the standouts on the album and is currently the number one song on the Apple Music charts.

The album starts off with a beautiful sample of the popular Phil Collins song, “In the Air of the Night.” Meek then raps over the piano sample, and like any great Meek Mill song, the beat leads to an intense base drop.

In the next song, “Trauma,” Meek Mill describes his time in jail and the injustice that he observed. The following track, “Uptown Vibes,” has more of an upbeat Spanish vibe, Anuel AA appropriately finishing it off with a verse in Spanish.
One of the most notable songs other than “Going Bad,” featuring Drake, is “What’s Free,” which includes verses from Rick Ross and rap legend Jay Z. On this track, Jay Z speaks a lot of truth and even comments on his relationship with Kanye West, whom he has had an unstable relationship with.

The album finishes with a track titled “Cold Hearted II,” where Meek Mill raps over a chill, sample-filled instrumental. After rapping about personal experiences, he closes the album by just speaking over the beat. This two-and-a-half minute monologue effectively wraps up his views and his personal growth on an album that is all about his new confidence as a free man.

When Meek Mill releases an album, it never disappoints, and this album is especially great. In my opinion, it is the best Meek Mill album to date, and may even be considered one of the top five rap albums of this year. I would most definitely recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of meaningful lyrics and messages, elaborate beats, and hype, motivational songs.