Meek Mill’s ‘Expensive Pain’ comes with a heavy cost

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Meek Mill is back with his fifth solo studio album, “Expensive Pain.” This latest project from the Philadelphia rapper is his first full-length record since the 2018 Grammy-nominated “Championships,” which came out seven months after his release from prison. The 18-track “Expensive Pain″ project features some of hip-hop’s brightest young stars such as Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Lil Durk and R&B singer Kehlani. Meek Mill stays true to form with gritty, sharp rhymes about street life and the mental trauma it carries. He expands his repertoire by experimenting with melodic rap — the sound currently dominating hip-hop — on songs like “On My Soul,” “We Slide” featuring Young Thug and “Angels (RIP Lil Snupe).”