Despite the lukewarm reception that 2021’s Hall of Fame received and the multiple delays of its follow-up, Hood Poet, Polo G shows no signs of being deterred. The Chicago rapper’s perseverance is evident on opener “God’s Favorite”: “Thuggin’ with my hoodie on, time to get my bully on,” he declares over a sumptuous beat switch, evoking the grand atmosphere and celebratory nature of a coronation ceremony.
But while Polo isn’t phoning it in performance-wise, the rest of Hood Poet never quite lives up to that initial victory lap. Only five of the album’s 18 tracks exceed the three-minute mark, and many feel incomplete. Dedications to family members (“Father’s Day”), uplifting pleas for sympathy (“Barely Holdin’ On”), tough-talking street anthems (“We Uh Shoot”) ultimately provide little more than surface-level explorations of those themes.
This leaves Hood Poet feeling somewhat shallow and lacking in creative depth. In fact, if you weren’t privy to the extended period during which the album was produced, you might mistake it for a rushed product. And the frequently amateurish audio mixing, where Polo’s vocals often sit behind the beat, only exacerbates that impression.
Polo has been humorously re-christened “Piano G” due to his penchant for piano-and-guitar-driven tracks, and he adheres to this rather bland formula with almost zealous dedication here. The album’s guests largely fail to jump-start the proceedings. Two Chi-town drill heavyweights, Lil Durk and G Herbo, are on total auto-pilot on “We Uh Shoot” and “No Recruits,” respectively. The sole exception is GloRilla, whose responses to an eager-to-please lover—“Don’t get cocky, I don’t want you, baby, I just want some dick”—are deadpan to the point of hilarity.
Hood Poet otherwise remains as straight-faced as they come, showing little interest in pushing Polo out of his immediate comfort zone. While the MC might frame this as sticking to his guns, it more often feels like an acceptance of complacency.
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