Most music fans are used to waiting up every Thursday night to hear their favorite artist’s new music, but not fans of rising Atlanta rapper Young Nudy. On Monday, Nudy posted on Twitter, “Tomorrow 12:00 School Time #ANYwAySs No pad No pencil just instrumentals,” letting his fans know he would be dropping his anticipated album, “Anyways,” just in time for lunch, and blue cheese salad would be on the menu.

Nudy had an amazing 2019, as the much anticipated release of his joint album with Atlanta super producer Pierre Bourne, “Sli’merre,” was met with love from both old and new fans. He was also featured on arguably the hottest song never released that year, “Kid Cudi,” with Atlanta megastar Playboi Carti.

While this was a great look for Nudy as he aims to move his career forward, feature-heavy projects have never been Nudy’s style. His early work rarely featured other rappers besides close friends and associates, such as 21 Savage and other Zone 6 Atlanta rappers. On “Anyways,” Nudy returns to his roots by having no features on the album.

When I first saw there were no features, I became slightly worried as usually only the most creative and versatile rappers can pull off an hour-long featureless album. However, Nudy proves to us that he is more than capable of carrying on his own.

I was not a fan of the first two songs “Understanding” and “No Go,” as I found the production to be uncharacteristically dull and repetitive along with Nudy’s rapping. Fortunately, the album picks up with the hard-hitting song “Blue Cheese Salad,” which follows Nudy’s tradition of naming songs after his favorite foods. The production on this song is right in Nudy’s bag and allows him to rap in all of his usual pockets as he tells us what we can expect for the rest of the album: “I told you, I only make stoner music / Gangster music, killer music,” while even throwing shade at Atlanta superstar rapper Gunna for his perceived fakeness.

Two tracks later, Nudy goes into what became my favorite song off the whole album, “A Nudy Story.” The production on this song really stood out to me — there’s an eerie but soothing outer-space riff repeating throughout the whole track that blends perfectly with Nudy’s most personal and heartfelt lyrics.

Nudy describes his first robbery and reflects on his strained relationship with his father: “Daddy, man, I met him when I was seventeen, that shit hurt me / Grandma died, it brought my daddy around, was that s— worth it? / My daddy left me out here for a b—-, but I still forgive him.” His experience with his father can help explain why Nudy continues to return to the topic of loyalty in his work and why he seems to value that over everything.

Nudy has always been credited with having one of the best ears for beats in music. He was one of the first to rap over Bourne’s beats. On “Anyways,” Nudy once again demonstrates his amazing ear.

While Bourne is absent from this album, Nudy instead chooses to showcase the skills of unknown producers 20 Rocket and Coupe, who produced the vast majority of the songs.

While these producers are able to show their talent for creating the trendier, hard up-tempo beats such as “A Nudy Story,” “I Won’t Flex” and “F—- Me Mean,” Nudy also showcases variety in his beat selection by enlisting producer Lamb for the nostalgic-sounding “That’s Why.” The beat features the same type of drippy piano keys that were heard on nearly every Atlanta trap beat during the middle of the last decade, a sound pioneered by the producer Zaytoven. This beat sounds like something Future would have rapped over on “Beastmode.”

Towards the end of the album, the songs begin to sound more melodic, with Nudy experimenting with singing hooks. This is most apparent in “I Won’t Flex,” the most distinct-sounding song on the whole album. It has a much moodier beat that sounds like its underwater at times, and Nudy’s soft but infectious singing blends perfectly with it during the chorus.

“I flexin’ on purpose (know I’m flexin) / I know they wanna murder me (wanna murder me).” Even with such a morbid topic, the soft production works with Nudy’s lighter tone to express both his dedication to flexing and the agony he faces everyday while trying to flex.

Even if it’s not the last song, “Marathon” is a fitting end to “Anyways,” as it seems to truly encapsulate everything Nudy is rapping about the whole album. The production is firmly in Nudy’s comfort zone, sounding like something off his “Slimeball” tapes. He’s able to hit all his usual flows and pockets effortlessly while never sounding repetitive. In the second verse, Nudy raps, “Loyalty over everything, they know how I rock / Never change for no fame, still on my block / Say when you get money that you’re ’posed to leave the block) / When I got enough money, I’m comin’ to buy the block.” Once again, Nudy raps about loyalty and tells us how he will always stay true to his origins and never stop supporting those that made him.

Even as Nudy gains more fame for his consistent output of amazing music, he makes sure to reassure his oldest fans and supporters that no matter where his career goes, nobody should be worried about Nudy changing anytime soon.