Swervo

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Swervo
Swervo.jpeg
Studio album by
G Herbo and Southside
ReleasedJuly 27, 2018
Genre
Length46:42
Label
Producer
  • Joseph "JB" Bowden (exec.)
  • Mikkey Halsted (also exec.)
  • Chopsquad DJ
  • Cubeatz
  • Jake One
  • Max Lord
  • Southside
  • Taso
  • TM88
G Herbo and Southside chronology
Humble Beast
(2017) 		Swervo
(2018) 		Still Swervin
(2019)
Singles from Swervo
  1. "Who Run It"
    Released: April 12, 2018
  2. "Focused"
    Released: May 24, 2018
  3. "Swervo"
    Released: June 21, 2018
  4. "Some Nights"
    Released: July 26, 2018

Swervo is a collaborative studio album by American rapper G Herbo and record producer Southside. It was released on July 27, 2018, by Machine Entertainment Group, Epic Records, Cinematic Music Group, 150 Dream Team and 808 Mafia. The production on the album was entirely handled by Southside, alongside Jake One and TM88, among others.[1] The album also features guest appearances from 21 Savage, Chief Keef, Juice Wrld and Young Thug.

Swervo was supported by four singles: "Who Run It", "Focused", "Swervo" and "Some Nights".[2][3] The album received postivie reviews from music critics. It debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 22,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[4] Its sequel album, Still Swervin, was released on February 1, 2019.[5]

Background[]

On September 11, 2017, G Herbo was featured in an interview with XXL, in which he spoke about the project, he said:

As far as when I'm gonna drop that with Southside too, that's coming this year. So, as far as music, bro, I got a lot of good stuff in the pipeline. I just been making sure it's right with the timing. The Southside project...that's going to be one of my biggest projects, hands down. It's going to give me an entire different fan base. I feel like I'll be capturing the entire South with that project. It's all about timing and just strategizing, making sure we're hitting A, B, C and all the way on to Z. I don't want to skip no steps or force nothing. Everything got to be natural and organic."[6]

The album's tracklist, cover art and release date was revealed on July 20, 2018. The announcement comes a month after G Herbo and Southside released the music video for the title track.[1] G Herbo described Swervo as his "alter-ego" and the "opposite of G Herbo". He further commented on the project during an interview with Billboard detailing the concept of him "having fun and party records."[7] In an interview with Complex, G Herbo talked about how the project came about, by saying:

"Southside, who produced the whole album, came up with the name. We would hook up in Atlanta, Miami, or L.A. and just hop in $200K whips, swerv thru traffic—really just have fun and enjoy life—then go to the lab and capture that feeling. It's that vibe. I can't get that feeling in Chicago, because Chicago ain't a place you can relax and let your guard down. Not even for a second. Don't get me wrong, I still talk that street talk, because that who I am at my core, but on this album I'm still having fun with it at the same time."[8]

Artwork[]

The album's artwork features G Herbo and Southside wearing custom-made jackets, sitting on a top of a white Rolls-Royce Ghost.[1][2] It draws inspiration from Eric B. & Rakim's 1988 album Follow the Leader.[1]

Singles[]

The album lead single, "Who Run It" was released on April 12, 2018. The second single, "Focused" featuring Southside was released on May 24, 2018.[9] The third single, "Swervo" featuring Southside was released on June 21, 2018, accompanied by the JMP-directed music video.[8] The fourth single, "Some Nights" was released on June 26, 2018.[3]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year74/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
HipHopDX3.5/5[11]
HotNewHipHop84%[12]
Pitchfork7.3/10[13]

Swervo was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on three reviews.[10]

Narsimha Chintaluri of HipHopDX stated that "G Herbo’s travels outside of Chicago and his comfort zone felt natural and necessary." "Unlike his debut, Herbo’s content on Swervo is more compartmentalized; a majority of the tracks here are strictly meant for the young man to vent and talk his CEO boss shit." In addition, Chintaluri stated that "Humble Beast presented a stark look at survivor’s guilt, Swervo mainly attempts to represent the flipside – leaving Herbo free to finally revel in success."[11] Trevor Smith of HotNewHipHop stated that "the 22-year-old rapper only continues to grow. Really, there's no limit."[12] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork stated that "He delivers some of his starkest verses like a steamroller, almost completely desensitized. This daredevil approach to gunplay and cadences makes him seem unbreakable, but the longer the album goes on, the more it wears on you. Swervo is all velocity. He delivers high-powered, stampeding stanzas looking to bum-rush you before you even know what happened."[13]

Commercial performance[]

Swero debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 22,000 album-equivalent units (including 3,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week.[4] The album also accumulated a total of 25.4 million on-demand streams from the set's tracks that week.[4]

Track listing[]

All tracks written by Herbert Wright III and Joshua Luellen, and produced by Southside, except where noted.[14][15][16]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Some Nights"
  • Wright III
  • Luellen
3:18
2."Swervo"
3:12
3."How I Grew Up" (featuring 21 Savage)
 3:40
4."FoReal"
  • Wright III
  • Luellen
2:38
5."Catch Up" (featuring Chief Keef)  3:10
6."Tweakin (Head)"  3:01
7."Pac n Dre"
  • Wright III
  • Luellen
  • Simmons
  • Southside
  • TM88[a]
3:14
8."Bonjour"
  • Wright III
  • Luellen
  • Simmons
3:32
9."Huh"
  • Wright III
  • Luellen
  • Max Adam Lord
3:21
10."100 Sticks" (featuring Young Thug)  3:46
11."Honestly" (featuring Juice Wrld)
  • Southside
  • Jake One[a]
3:34
12."Letter" 
  • Southside
  • Cubeatz[a]
4:45
13."Focused" 
  • Southside
  • Jake One[a]
2:43
14."Who Run It (Remix)"
 2:48
Total length:46:42

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from album's back cover.[23]

Technical

  • Max Lord – recording, mixing
  • Tony Wilson – editing
  • Slavic Livins – Mastering engineer (for Chicago Audio Mastering)

Additional personnel

  • Oscar "YT Designs" Galvan – art direction, design
  • TeeJay Spencer – art direction, design
  • Rowdee "TheManBehindCovers" – art direction, design

Charts[]

Chart (2018) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[24] 15
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[26] 8
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[27] 8

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Wallace, Riley (July 20, 2018). "G Herbo & Southside Unveil More Details For "Swervo" Album". HipHopDX. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Mojica, Nick (July 20, 2018). "G Herbo & Southside Enlist Juice Wrld & More for 'Swervo' Project". XXL. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Hussein, Wandera (July 26, 2018). "G Herbo shares new song "Some Nights"". The Fader. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kyle Eustice (August 6, 2018). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Drake Keeps Hitting Milestones As "Scorpion" Stays At No. 1 for 5th Straight Week". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (January 31, 2019). "Stream G Herbo's 'Still Swervin' Project f/ Juice WRLD, Gunna, and More". Complex. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  6. ^ India, Lindsey (September 11, 2017). "G Herbo Says His Upcoming Project With Southside May Be His Biggest Yet". XXL. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  7. ^ Saponara, Michael (June 14, 2018). "G Herbo Talks Inking First Partnership Deal With Luc Belaire & Sophomore Album 'Swervo'". Billboard. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Skelton, Eric (June 21, 2018). "Premiere: G Herbo Drops Video for Title Track Off Upcoming Southside-Produced Album 'Swervo'". Complex. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. ^ Goddard, Kevin (May 24, 2018). "G Herbo Releases New Single & Accompanying Video "Focused"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Swervo by G Herbo & Southside AOTY Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Chintaluri, Narsimha (August 13, 2018). "Review: G Herbo & Southside's "Swervo" Convincingly Warrants Future Collabos". HipHopDX. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Smith, Trevor (August 1, 2018). "G Herbo & Southside "SWERVO" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Pearce, Sheldon (August 1, 2018). "G Herbo & Southside: Swervo Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  14. ^ "Swervo / G Herbo". Tidal. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  15. ^ "ACE Repertory". ASCAP. Select "TITLE", type "Song" in the search engine, and click "Search". Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "SUPERFLY (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) / Future". Tidal. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  17. ^ WIKI