Phora – “Heartbreak Hotel” review

Phora is a 26 year old rapper from Anaheim, California who broke out in 2017 off his debut album Yours Truly Forever. He just dropped his 6th mixtape With Love 2 back in November & now with Valentine’s Day coming up this weekend, he’s following it up by dropping his 2nd EP.

The EP starts with “colorblind”, where Phora talks about never leaving this woman’s side over a summery beat. The next song “Loaded Gun” talks about being lonely inside over a bare acoustic guitar while the track “I’m scared of falling in love” talks about living without a heart over a lethargic beat. The song “damaged inside” talks about how his life is better with his girl by his side over an acoustic-tinged boom bap instrumental while the track “room 427” talks about someone who only remembers the bad times with him over an acoustic guitar & some snares. “the art of letting go” talks about how he hopes his ex still smells him on her pillows over an derelict beat & then the closer “where do we go when there’s nothing left?” serves as a tribute to those who’re no longer with us & the vocal sample is actually really cool.

I can imagine some people getting down to this EP given how “sad” it is, but I did care for it at all unfortunately. The production is ok, but Phora doesn’t really do the emo rap subgenre any justice whatsoever as his lyrics come off too melodramatic & corny for a good portion of the time.

Score: 1.5/5