Larry June – “Spaceships on the Blade” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Vallejo emcee Larry June. Since dropping out of high school, this dude has been steadily grinding his ass off with his last 7 studio efforts along with a total 14 EPs & 7 mixtapes. My favorites of his ever-growing discography include the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry, the Cardo-produced Cruise USA & it’s sequel Into the Late Night, the Harry Fraud-produced Keep Going & more recently the mobb music-influenced Jay Worthy collab effort 2 P’z in a Pod that came out this past spring. So considering that Jay just dropped his full-length debut a couple weeks ago, it’s only fitting for Larry to follow suit in the form of Spaceships on the Blade.

After the “Free Uncle Herm IV” intro, the first song “Private Valet” is a symphonic opener produced by Jake One to the album talking about how nobody has love for you when the sky gets cold whereas “I’m Him” takes a more spacey yet funkier route thanks to Cardo to boast. “Things You Do” has a more luscious tone to it featuring co-production from DJ Khalil telling this woman he knows she’s trying to make that move, but then the DJ Fresh-laced “Don’t Check Me” mixes some pianos & synths to advise to check a bitch before him.

The sequel to “Another Day in SF” is pretty cool from the lyrics picking up where the predecessor left off to the 80s-inspired instrumental & after the “Tools of the Game” interlude, “Corte Madera, CA” comes through with a jazzy tribute to the titular city in Marin County. 2 Chainz tags along for “Still Boomin’” to get back in their mobb shit just before “Brand New Machinery” has a more melodic flare to it over a synth-heavy beat from Chuck Inglish talking about the whip he just copped.

Meanwhile on “I’ll Make Time”, we have Larry over more sensual production acknowledging this chick wants to get to know him more while “For Tonight” refines the romance vibes of the last cut from Syd’s hook to the verses & instrumental. “In My Pockets” weaves the synthesizers back in to talk about the bread while the Curren$y-assisted “5.0 Chronicles” has a more syrupy feel to it delivering a late night cruiser’s anthem.

“Breakfast in Monoco” is a string-laced prelude to Larry’s upcoming album with The Alchemist spitting that fly shit while “Larry’s Diner” goes full-blown drumless thanks to Sean House delivering some vivid storytelling. “Organic Adjustments” dives into funkier turf talking about wanting to be with this chick even when he’s on the road while the song “Spaceships & Orange Juice” is atmospheric trap ballad rightfully flexing that he’s been doing numbers.

The penultimate track “Extra of Um” with one of the 2 hottest artists in Detroit right now Babyface Ray amalgamates some pianos, synths & even a couple strings so the pair can talk about have extras of everything pretty much with the Turbo-produced “Appreciate It All” ending the album with a genuine open letter to the public expressing his gratitude.

Although I don’t think it’s as great as Into the Late Night, I’m not gonna sit here & deny that I enjoyed a good portion of what I heard throughout Spaceships on the Blade. The overall sound of the album is admirably diverse, the feature list is pretty consistent & Larry is stepping up his pen-game tremendously. At this rate, his album with Uncle Al could be a future classic.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jay Worthy & Larry June – “2 P’z in a Pod” review

This is a brand new collaborative album between California emcees Jay Worthy & Larry June. One hails straight outta L.A. & the other being from San Francisco, but these guys have been working with each other for a little over 5 years now ever since the Chuck Inglish-produced loosie “On Sight”. The last time we heard them together was “Survival Series ‘95” off the 2nd disc of Hitler Wears Hermes VIII: Sincerely Adolf but with the help of Sean House behind the boards, Jay & Larry are finally giving the world 2 P’z in a Pod.

After the “Bad Things ” intro, the first song “Vanilla Cream” opens the album up with a cloudy ode to their lifestyles whereas “Big Funds” takes a funkier route talking about their wealth. “Sock It 2 Me” works in some electro influences to describe a bonafide hoe just before Roc Marciano tags along for the g-funk heavy “Maybe the Next Time” to talk about being playas with a soulful hook.

After the “How 2 Knock” interlude, we have Jay & Larry describing living life fast the glossy “Leave It Up to Me” leading into the recently romantic “She’s Not Around”. The track “Hotel Bel-Air” incorporates a symphony to talk about not being afraid of change & prior to the Bag Connection” outro, the final song “Late Nights” ends the album with Jim Jones coming into the picture to jump on top of a rich beat talking about their significant others being on their minds.

These guys always kill it when you get to hear them together & if you’re a hardcore fan of either one of them, then I highly recommend checking 2 P’z in a Pod out. Sean House cooks up some of the best production of his career with Jay & Larry taking their chemistry to the next level.

Score: 4/5

Larry June – “Into the Late Night” review

Larry June is a 30 year old MC from Vallejo, California who’s been grinding his ass off for the last 15 years. My favorites of his ever-growing discography include the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry, the Cardo-produced Cruise USA, the Harry Fraud-produced Keep Going & even his last album Orange Print got some notable buzz over the summer. But now that he has a Griselda Records-backed collab tape with Jay Worthy on the way, Cardo & Larry are getting back together for the latter’s 14th EP.

“Gas Station Run” is a flawless late night cruiser with a g-funk flare to it whereas “Either Way” works in a synth-heavy instrumental talking about a lot of shit going down in the late night. “Don’t Try It” has a more hypnotizing sound advising not to fuck with him just before “Friday Activities” serves as a slick party starter for the weekends.

The song “Bigger Risk” has some jazz undertones to the production saying he’s thinking a decade ahead while the penultimate track “Red Book Chronicles” gets back into that vintage west coast sound asking where his boys were when he was taking a lot of risks. “Saturday Night Interview” is an odd choice for a closer, but it’s still a decent romance ballad nonetheless.

Although it’s only an EP, I’d actually say that Into the Late Night is a bit better than Orange Print. Cardo’s production style on here is a lot similar to that of Payroll Giovanni’s latest album Another Day Another Dollar which is perfect given Larry’s geographical background & his chilled out flow.

Score: 4/5