''Legends of the Summer'' is the fifth

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by American rapper

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

. The EP was released on July 6, 2018, by

Maybach Music Group Maybach Music Group (; abbreviated MMG) is a record label imprint founded by American rapper Rick Ross. Maybach Music Group albums are distributed by Atlantic Records, a division of the Atlantic Records Group. Atlantic took over distribution fo ...

and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It is the follow-up to Meek Mill's third album ''

Wins & Losses ''Wins & Losses'' is the third studio album by American rapper Meek Mill. It 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) ...

'' (2017), and his first project since his release from prison in April 2018. It includes

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

s from Miguel,

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

PnB Rock Rakim Hasheem Allen (December 9, 1991 – September 12, 2022), better known by his stage name PnB Rock, was an American rapper and singer. He gained a large following in 2016 with his song "Selfish", which peaked at number 51 on the US ''Billbo ...

and

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

. The production handled by

Hitmaka Christian J. Ward (born September 9, 1985), professionally known as Hitmaka, is an American record producer and former rapper from Chicago, Illinois. Ward began his career as a rapper under the name Yung Berg, having released his debut album ''L ...

Jahlil Beats Orlando Jahlil Tucker (born February 8, 1988), better known by his stage name Jahlil Beats, is an American hip hop producer. He is currently signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation. He has produced for artists such as Puff Daddy, Lil Wayne, Fabolous, Mee ...

, Mike DZL and

Prince Chrishan Christopher Chrishan Dotson, better known by his stage name, Chrishan or Prince Chrishan is an American Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for writing and producing Meek Mill's "Dangerous" featuring PnB Rock ...

, among others. The EP was supported by one single: "Stay Woke" featuring Miguel.

Background

On July 5, 2018, Meek Mill began teasing both the project's artwork and music.

Singles

The EP's lead single "Stay Woke" was released on June 26, 2018. The song was performed with Miguel at the

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

on June 25, 2018.

Reception

Legends of the Summer generally received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Mosi Reeves of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote "Over a breezy 13 minutes, Meek Mill fills his listeners with hope that, yes, it is possible to survive and thrive in a country seemingly determined to deliver rough extrajudicial justice to people of color." Scott from ''The Scott & Andre Show'' said "I thought it was pretty bad, I didn't enjoy listening to it...it was bland, it was unremarkable", and in a slightly more positive review, Andre said "I'm just gonna say it was mediocre. I agree...it was not very remarkable at all, but I thought the saving grace for it was the production".

Commercial performance

''Legends of the Summer'' debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200, earning 26,000

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

s, with 6,000 coming from pure album sales. It serves as Meek Mill's fifth top-ten album in the United States.

Track listing

Credits adapted from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

. Notes * "1AM" contains a sample from "

Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up) "Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)" is the lead single from rapper Jay-Z's fourth album '' Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter''. The song features production by Rockwilder, including guest vocals by Amil and Beanie Sigel. Formats and track listin ...

", written by Dana Stinson, Kyambo Joshua,

Dwight Grant Dwight Lamont Grant (born September 14, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the welterweight division. He had previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born and raised in the Bedfor ...

and

Shawn Carter Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

, as performed by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

. * "Stay Woke" contains a sample from " The Message", written by Clifton Chase, Edward Fletcher,

Melvin Glover Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furio ...

and

Sylvia Robinson Sylvia Robinson (née Vanderpool; May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011) was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with ...

, as performed by

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, Sc ...

Personnel

* Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing * Dave Kutch – mastering

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legends of the Summer 2018 EPs Meek Mill EPs Atlantic Records EPs Albums produced by Jahlil Beats