Well before “Not Like Us” became a bona fide phenomenon, Mustard amassed a staggering number of hits. Contrasting with the concurrent rise of trap music, his 2010s work as a producer for the likes of Big Sean, Migos, Rihanna, Tinashe and YG—to name just a few—all but defined the sound of mainstream hip-hop and R&B that decade. Yet his musical contribution to Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake sent him soaring back to the top of the charts, essentially making the 2024 release Faith of a Mustard Seed an inevitability. Some five years after his last album Perfect Ten, Mustard fully reinserts himself into the proverbial conversation with this 14-track effort. Teaming up with old friends and new collaborators alike, his curatorial approach leads to exciting configurations around the album’s various guest features. He spreads that California love with Vince Staples and ScHoolboy Q on “Pressured Up” and gives Atlanta its props with Young Thug and transplanted resident Lil Durk on “Ghetto”. Elsewhere, he acts against regionality. “Up Now” unites Lil Yachty, BlueBucksClan and 42 Dugg for an all-American flex, while the sentimental “A Song for Mom” adds Masego's island vibes to the mix with Ty Dolla $ign and the legendary Charlie Wilson. A few artists get solo showcases, namely Kodak Black on the booming “Yak’s Prayer” and Travis Scott on the shimmering “Parking Lot”. A frequent studio partner, Roddy Ricch, heads up the sinuous “Truth Is” and duets with Ella Mai for the revelatory “One Bad Decision”. And while gospel fixture Kirk Franklin delivers the opening prayer on “Show Me the Way”, it’s Mustard himself who closes with gratitude and grace on the poetic speech “Pray for Me”.
