Expensive Pain Explained

Expensive Pain
Type:studio
Artist:Meek Mill
Cover:Meek Mill - Expensive Pain.png
Released:October 1, 2021
Length:55:04
Label:
Producer:
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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.

Release and promotion

Meek announced the album, cover art, and release date on September 15, 2021.[2] He revealed the tracklist on September 30, the day before the album was released.[3] The album cover art was made by modern artist Nina Chanel Abney.[4]

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.[5] "Sharing Locations" featuring Lil Baby and Lil Durk was released on August 27 with a video as the second single.[6] 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.[7] [8]

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.

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."[9]

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.[10] This became Meek Mill's fifth US top-ten debut on the chart.[10] The album also accumulated a total of 110.53 million on-demand streams from the songs on the project.[10] In its second week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, earning an additional 46,000 units.[11]

Track listing

Sample credits

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] 51
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 35

Year-end charts

Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Position
US Billboard 200[14] 190
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] 69

Notes and References

  1. Meek Mill Announces New Album 'Expensive Pain' With Vice-Filled Album Art. Rolling Stone. Blistein. Jon. September 15, 2021. September 15, 2021.
  2. Web site: Meek Mill Announces New Album Expensive Pain. Pitchfork. Ruiz. Matthew Ismael. September 15, 2021. September 15, 2021.
  3. Web site: Meek Mill shares handwritten 'Expensive Pain' tracklist. Revolt. Ruiz. Matthew Ismael. September 30, 2021. September 30, 2021.
  4. Web site: Meek Mill's 'Expensive Pain' Album Art Takes Over Landmarks, Major Cities Across U.S.. Complex Networks. Blanchet. Brenton. September 28, 2021. August 31, 2022.
  5. Web site: Meek Mill Drops New "Flamerz Flow" Track and Music Video. Hypebeast. Su. Sammy. June 2, 2021. September 15, 2021.
  6. Web site: Meek Mill, Lil Baby, and Lil Durk team up on new song 'Sharing Locations'. NME. Richards. Will. August 27, 2021. September 15, 2021.
  7. Web site: Meek Mill recruits Lil Uzi Vert for new single 'Blue Notes 2'. NME. Gallagher. Alex. August 27, 2021. September 15, 2021.
  8. Watch Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert Perform 'Blue Notes 2' on 'Fallon'. Rolling Stone. Zemler. Emily. September 21, 2021. September 21, 2021.
  9. Web site: Meek Mill Finds a Sweet Spot Between the Serious and Superficial With 'Expensive Pain': Album Review. Amorosi. A.D.. October 1, 2021. Variety. October 4, 2021.
  10. Taylor Swift's 'Fearless (Taylor's Version)' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Keith Caulfield. October 10, 2021. October 11, 2021.
  11. Drake's 'Certified Lover Boy' Bounces Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Keith Caulfield. October 17, 2021. 2021-10-17.
  12. The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 11 October 2021. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. 1649. 6. October 11, 2021.
  13. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. October 11, 2021. October 9, 2021.
  14. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  15. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.

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