Not All Heroes Wear Capes

On his official solo debut, hip-hop producer Metro Boomin gathers a team of familiar faces and serves up a shadowy collection of hypnotic trap nuggets on the chart-topping Not All Heroes Wear Capes. His work is typically addictive, as hazy atmospherics and popping beats lay the groundwork for the guest rappers to do their things. At the top of the pack, Travis Scott scores five slots, including album highlight "Overdue," which rides a haunting Annie sample, while 21 Savage contributes a trio of ominous yet deviously enthralling songs, with "Don't Come Out the House" and "10 Freaky Girls" the standouts. Young Thug, Gunna, Swae Lee, Wizkid, and Migos' Offset each drop a pair of tracks, personalizing Metro's production with their distinctive deliveries. In addition to these multiple appearances, Not All Heroes Wear Capes also recruits J Balvin on the Wizkid/Offset collaboration "Only You" and Gucci Mane on "10AM/Save the World." Elsewhere, Kodak Black joins Scott and 21 on "No More," a weary comedown that finds their hard-living lifestyles catching up to them. The effort's sole promotional single, "No Complaints," is basically a Migos song with a Drake verse, allowing Offset to take his place in the spotlight while Future and Young Thug pop into the studio for some ad-libbing. Overall, Not All Heroes advances Metro Boomin's technique, utilizing an Avengers-of-trap team to amplify the drama in his atmospherics and focus the hypnotic appeal of his sharp beat pops. ~ Neil Z. Yeung