The Singles Jukebox

How the Meek have fallen.

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[5.88]

Iain Mew: I love the combination of massive choral vocal and more subtle beat, which makes the whole song feel like it’s skipping around and between the footsteps of a giant. Jazmine and Meek Mill play their argument competently and down the middle enough to pick up both some of the drama and some of the agility.
[7]

Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Vengeful choirs, martial drums and biting accusations flood “Dumb” without ever awakening the heart. It’s a puzzle to allow two emotional foghorns like Sullivan and Meek into the same space and come out with something this… controlled.
[4]

Alfred Soto: A characteristically sharp Meek performance compensates for the lethargic string sample, and Sullivan tries too hard. Not dumb but ambitious.
[5]

Brad Shoup: Pairing that chant with those wet-newspaper snares isn’t the smartest move either.
[4]

Megan Harrington: Why, oh why, did some clumsy label exec decide to ruin this sinewy anthem with 30 weak seconds from Meek Mill? 
[8]

Thomas Inskeep: Jazmine Sullivan is a decent singer, if a bit too scratchy-voiced for her own good, but there’s no song here, and Meek Mill is a half-decent rapper at best. I need never be bothered with this again. 
[4]

Andy Hutchins: If Key Wane had a producer tag, his stature would match his streak of excellent singles. “Dumb,” which comes equipped with subterranean bass, a choppy drum run, and scene-setting operatic background vocals, is just the latest. I suppose Jazmine Sullivan (who is back!) is pretty good here, and Meek proves quite capable on a rare R&B guest verse; the beat is the show, and I’d rate an instrumental even higher.
[7]

David Lee: I forgot how good Jazmine is at wounded. Even the insult is defensive, a means of telling herself that he’s the dumb one, not her. But then, the slowed down “Jesus Walks” renders Meek Mill–Meek Mill!– the lone fool arguing to a regiment of Jazmines who know his shtick. “Dumb” explodes the ambiguity of “We Need A Resolution” in spectacular fashion.
[8]