Meek Mill – Wins & Losses

Wins & Losses
Wins & Losses is the third studio album by American rapper Meek Mill. The album was released on July 21, 2017, by Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records Group. It is the follow-up to Meek Mill’s second album Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015) and his Meekend Music EP series. It includes guest appearances from Rick Ross, Future, Quavo, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Yo Gotti and The-Dream, among others. Production derives from Meek Mill’s first signed Dreamchaser producer Papamitrou, Streetrunner, DJ Mustard, Street Symphony, Wheezy, Maaly Raw, Dougie, and Honorable C.N.O.T.E..
Wins and Losses received generally favorable reviews and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 102,000 album-equivalent units, of which 37,000 were pure album sales. The album was supported by two singles: Whatever You Need featuring Chris Brown and Ty Dolla Sign, and “Young Black America” featuring The-Dream.

Background
After releasing numerous EPs such as 4/4 (2016) and the Meekend Music series (2017), Wins and Losses was announced in May 2017 by Rick Ross, while the album cover and tracklist were revealed in mid-July 2017 a few weeks before release. Meek Mill explained the concept behind Wins and Losses during an interview with Streetz 94.5, saying:
“ “I just wanted to give people a real perspective of my life, what we call wins and what we call losses. I lost my case, we lost Lil Snupe, Chino lost his brother. Where we come from, that’s a loss. When you talk L’s and W’s, you get an L, that mean you got life in jail. It’s critical, it ain’t what they talking about, so I wanted to give my perspective on it, let people know what I’ve been through.”

Promotion
On June 2, 2017, Meek Mill partnered with Spotify and released a video of him freestyling. The video premiered on the playlist “Rap Caviar”. Meek Mill officially acknowledged the album in it. On July 10, 2017, Meek Mill released a trailer for the album as well as a trailer for a short film titled, Wins and Losses: The Movie. The movie was directed by Spike Jordan. He also released the official cover artwork for Wins and Losses the same day. Wins and Losses: The Movie was released in 4 parts, and was uploaded to YouTube daily from June 17 until June 20, 2017, leading up to the release of the album. The full movie was uploaded to YouTube the day the album was released, the film featured music from the album. Meek Mill went on to promote the album with interviews from Hot 97 and Power 105.1 leading up to release.

Singles
The lead single, “Whatever You Need” featuring Chris Brown and Ty Dolla Sign, was released on June 1, 2017. The song was produced by DJ Mustard, with co-production from James Royo and Rance from musical ensemble 1500 or Nothin’. The song samples “Whatever You Want” by Tony! Toni! Toné!. It has since peaked at number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The second single, “Young Black America” featuring The-Dream was released on June 24, 2017, accompanied by a music video. The song was produced by Street Symphony and D.O. Speaks, and samples “Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)”, by Jay-Z. On August 17, 2017 Meek performed the song on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Other songs
Meek Mill released “Glow Up” as a promotional single on May 22, 2017, and the music video was released the next day. Meek Mill released the “Issues” on July 13, 2017, the music video was released the next day and features cameo appearances from PnB Rock, Jim Jones, XXXTentacion, and Danny García. On July 24, 2017 it was revealed by YouTube personality DJ Akademiks that the clean version of “1942 Flows” features an extended second verse, that allegedly contains a subliminal diss aimed at fellow rapper Drake.
On July 28, 2017 Meek Mill released the music video for “We Ball” featuring Young Thug. WorldStarHipHop premiered the music video for “Price” on August 1, 2017.

Reception
Wins and Losses received generally favorable reviews from critics upon release. Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork praised the album’s subject matter, commenting: “Much like his major label debut, Dreams and Nightmares, his new album juxtaposes rap dreams and hood realities, but draws more deliberate distinctions. He recognizes rapping as salvation from street life, not some gladiatorial clash inside an echo chamber. Meek makes the case there’s more than one way to win, and that being bested in the rap coliseum isn’t nearly as devastating a blow as seeing close friends die. Subliminal shots don’t hit the way real ones do. The album is a comeback by any measure, honest and gripping.” In a positive review for HotNewHipHop, Richard Bryan said, Win and Losses seems “primarily, to be about emotional growth for Meek Mill—even an outlet for it—and Meek coming to an understanding that life is about both successes and failures.” Writing for The Ringer, Justin Charity praised the album declaring it Meek Mill’s “most polished and passionate album of his troubled career.” M.T Richards of Exclaim! was more critical of the album describing it as, “a letdown”, he wrote: “From “Save Me” to “1942 Flows,” “Glow Up” to “These Scars,” the songs here are grayish and oppressively monochromatic, with stiff, sedate drums. “Heavy Heart” is a lone reminder that intestinal fortitude used to be Meek’s province, but overall, Wins & Losses is mostly the latter.”
In a mixed review for PopMatters, writer William Sutton called the album “safe”, he continued saying, the album is “a good listen in places and evidence of Meek’s skillset. However, it doesn’t feel like it will be enough to reverse the losses that so many feel he has suffered of late. Writing for Mass Appeal, Khari Nixon wrote a largely positive review, saying: “while Wins and Losses may not be an instant classic, it stands as both a reminder and a statement of purpose for a talented MC who’s skills bar for bar can’t be denied. Don’t get lost in the hip hop soap opera, when it comes to this rap shit, Meek Mill is still winning.” Scott Glaysher of XXL commented on the album saying; “Meek has visibly shifted his dial from “completely lost” to “approaching victory.” He continued saying, “If nothing else, Wins & Losses is a display of optimism from a rapper who briefly yet substantially fell from hip-hop’s good graces but aims to make his way back in a major way.”
Wins and Losses debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with 102,000 album-equivalent units, of which 37,000 were pure album sales.

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