‘Growing Up 2’ Review/Interview

Nearly two and a half months after its release, Friendzone Lique’s emotion-filled tape, “Growing Up 2” is steadily garnering nearly 24K monthly listeners for Lique, and rightfully so. 

Lique, gracing the cover of his tape with a large smile and a colorful background, led me to believe that I would be taken on a joyful journey. However, in actuality most of Lique’s lyrics do a deep dive into his emotional journey as a Black man in his 20’s and what life has thrown at him over these past years, and especially the trying year we are currently in. There are certain times in this 26-minute project where the vibe does match the joyful grin that Lique portrays on the cover, but songs like “Thankful,” which leads off the tape, really hit home for me. With lyrics like “she deserves the world, and that’s exactly what I treat her like” while talking about his relationship with his mother - Lique took me to a place of hunger for greatness to be able to provide for the one woman that matters to him the most. A feeling I can’t help but relate to. 

While a majority of the songs touch on a heavier subject matter, tracks like ‘Chips N Dip’ and ‘Power of NY’ really give Lique room to flex his more braggadocious rap demeanor and use that to lean into the charm that is on display on the cover artwork. With a wide range of emotions, flows, and punchlines, Lique performs at a high caliber and skill in a short and sweet run time.  Keeping the project at 8 tracks and just about 26 minutes in length gives it great replayability. The tape hits hard in the emotions, even harder in the bars, and still leaves listeners with hope and excitement for whatever else Friendzone Lique has in store for us for the rest of 2020.

Just a few days after the release of “Growing Up 2,” I got to sit down with Lique to talk about the release of his tape, the growth in his music, how the pandemic affected his music, and his personal experiences expressed through his pen. You can check out the interview below.