The FLAMERZ 5 Mixtape by Meek Mill has been officially released, but, true to his word, it won’t be accessible via streaming platforms. At least for the moment.
On Monday, November 21, the project was released on YouTube and mixtape portals including AudioMack and DatPiff. Meek dives in over sound like GloRilla’s “Tomorrow,” DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” Ice Spice’s “Munch (Feelin’ U),” Lil Wayne’s Dedication 2 anthem “Cannon,” and others, harkening back to the era of mixtapes without record labels or sample clearances. The 15-track album has features from Vory, Friday, Tafia, Yung Ro, and Kur.
Before the tape’s release, Meek revealed the reasoning behind keeping F5 off streaming services in a series of tweets, with label interference with his finances serving as the main point.
“When a label gave me a plaque I thought they were tryna trick me lol … show me the financials that my art made … that other shit a mental trick,” he explained. “Give me a plaque with how much my song made and how much I got paid … I’m shying away from that whole system it’s not for us!
“I don’t want FLAMERZ 5 on no streaming service …. This strictly underground music … billboard can’t rate it,” he continued. “Just rate the music ….I’d bet you a million I can make the UnitedStates/world play it with one upload button .. been doing it since MySpace lol”
Because Meek tweeted that he had made $1 million just this week immediately after releasing the footage, it appears that his strategy is working.
“I made like a million this week I ain’t dealing with that [label] shit they crazy lol,” he wrote. “nip was tryna sell mixtapes for 1000$ I understand now he was ahead of me mentally for sure on that!”
Additionally, he disclosed that the project was completed in just 10 days and that his next album would be released at the beginning of 2023.
When it debuted in 2008, Meek’s FLAMERZ series assisted in launching his career. Black Thought, Freeway, Gillie Da Kid, and other artists made appearances in the last episode, FLAMERZ 4, which was released in March 2010.
