Fredo is back and he’s here to tell his story in the rawest possible way: unfiltered, uncensored and without mincing his words.
The West London rap icon has never shied away from delivering the cold and hard truths of life on the streets and in this 15-track album, Unfinished Business, the rapper digs deep to share candid life stories and lessons learnt.
Having faced backlash in the past for regretfully wandering too far into the realms of the commercialised mainstream, Fredo has been keen to stick to his roots without holding back. No stone is left unturned when it comes to his lyrics, with topics of gang violence, guns, drugs and criminality all featuring in the tapestry of his music.
The track “My Story” serves as the boldest possible opening to the album. No hook, no chorus or catchy melodies: just an epic nine minutes and 25 seconds of hard truths and raw flows. Fredo puts it all on the table for this song, which is arguably the shining gem of the album. He candidly tells us stories of his life whilst laying down many of the themes that will be further explored throughout the album. He talks gang culture, money-making, game-playing and clout-chasing; he touches on trapping and tricking and rapping and riches; he talks about women, business, loyalties and naysayers. It’s a valiant and unfiltered track, full of grit, heart and honesty.
The second track, “Woo” is another hard-hitting song, this time filled with emotion as Fred pays tribute to young lives lost, shouting out the late Georgio Tyson and Billy McCullagh amongst others. For a rare moment in the album, we hear him touch on topics of suppressed pain, deep emotion and perhaps even regret, with lyrics that cut deep: “Love this life and hate this life at the same time / just look at everything we have to sacrifice”.
Sonically, a refreshing pivot is found in “Girls” and “Everybody Knows”, where the rapper rides beats reminiscent of noughties hip-hop. Although the topics of trapping and hustling still take centre stage, new life is injected into the project here with Fredo expanding his sound into new territories.
The bouncing beat in “Scoreboard” (already released in July), with a sizzling feature from Tiggs Da Author, will grab your attention too, as well as the R&B inflections of “Quarter Past Three”, featuring Eric IV, which serves up some rare discussion of romance and intimacy, almost tender by Fredo’s standards.
The only other time Fredo chooses to focus on the topic of love is in “It’s Only Us”, where he opens up about cheating and breaking trust. Many of the other tracks on the project hold a rougher lyrical content and more closely align with the sound we’d expect from Fredo.
Lyrically, throughout the album, we hear the West Londoner battling between wanting to let go of his vices and constantly being pulled back to the streets. Despite repeatedly referencing his business acumen, displayed through his multi-million-pound investment in sneaker retailer, Kick Game, as well as his clothing line, Parental Guidance, and his record label, PG Records, Fredo still can’t keep his hands totally clean when it comes to his money-making habits. Gambling, drugs and criminality are rife in Fredo’s storytelling.
At the end of the day, as stated in “Make Mistakes”, he’d rather sit in jail cell than work a nine to five. In “To The Max”, the rapper himself acknowledges the irony in trying to lead his little brothers down a better path whilst being unable to commit to doing so himself. But the thing about Fredo is that he’s never tried to be a squeaky-clean role model; the beauty in his art is in its rawness, its realness and its brutal candour.
Overall, fans are unlikely to be disappointed; Unfinished Business is a solid body of work. Fredo takes the role of storyteller in this album, as expressed in the lyrics of “Trash”, where he says, “My life’s mad, could have wrote a book / But instead I wrote a hook”.
It’s clear that Fredo isn’t here for TikTok trends or viral snippets; he’s creating real, raw music, getting personal and showing us his skills as a rapper. On Unfinished Business, he doesn’t venture too far from his usual realms but is showing consistency and steady elevation as his hearty discography expands. The true gems in the album come when he digs deeper with his lyrics and toys with some refreshing sounds.
Will this fourth studio album touch some of the lofty heights reached by his past offerings? The jury’s out, but only time will tell. One thing is for sure – Fredo is relentlessly proving himself to be a key name in the UK rap game and he’s undoubtedly here to stay.