Bryson Tiller – Self-Titled review

This is the eponymous 4th full-length LP from Louisville, Kentucky singer/songwriter & rapper Bryson Tiller. Beginning over a decade ago off his debut mixtape Killer Instinct, he would eventually sign to RCA Records & release the ground breaking debut T R A P S O U L celebrating it’s 9-year anniversary this fall. The sophomore effort True to Self was underwhelming & A N N I V E R S A R Y proved to be a step in the right direction but coming off 4 more tapes & EP since (more recently the Slum Tiller trilogy, Bryson’s looking reintroduce himself & show the world what he’s capable of.

After the “http://” intro, the first song “Attention” is a spacey R&B opener singing about being drawn by a captivating woman whereas “Stay Gold” clashes the pop rap & R&B styles together to address the value of the relationship & willingness to make things work. “Persuasion” featuring Victoria Monét is a trap soul duet detailing a flirtatious encounter between 2 people, but then the standout “Ciao!” sings about being finically taken advantage of over a laid-back instrumental from Charlie Heat, FNZ & Leon Thomas III.

“Peace” continues to mix passionate vocals derived from contemporary R&B with nocturnal & atmospheric trap production to admit his need for peace just before another favorite “Rich Boy” finds Vinylz, Boi-1da, Ging & Allen Ritter sampling “Throw Some D’s” by Rich Boy himself spending everything on his romantic interest qfrom the night. “R.A.M. (Random Access Memory)” brings some heavy synthesizers into the fold wanting the old him back that is until “No Thank You” blends hi-hats & lower register synths talking about an endured bond.

The summery guitars on “Find My Way” singing that believe in love except the problem is that he doesn’t know what else to call it while yet another highlight “Prize” fuses alternative R&B & pop rap to tell the woman in his life that no one ends can do it the way that she does. “Waterfalls” brings a psychedelic flare to the beat to sing about paintin’ waterfalls in his woman while “ÆON L U S T” goes afrobeats thanks to KAYTRANADA telling the story of being fascinated by someone special.

“Calypso” was a mediocre contemporary R&B choice of a single with additional elements of afrobeats & dancehall likening her body to Carribean music altogether while the cloudy albeit snappy “Outside” expresses his sexual desire to a freshly single woman who was unable to escape a disastrous previous relationship. “Undertow” strips things back saying he can feel her heartbeat in his chest while “F4U” flips ”Feenin’” by JoDeCi rapping his ass off. “Assume the Position” goes for a groovier approach telling her to put both her hands where he can see them prior to Whatever $he Wants” ending self-titled with a flavorful hybrid of pop rap, Detroit trap, alternative R&B & even hyphy music.

Decent album altogether, but the highs are high enough to the point where I’d actually put this eponymous effort right behind A N N I V E R S A R Y as my 3rd favorite LP of his. The production matches the caliber of that previous full-length combining contemporary R&B & none other than of course the trap soul sound he pioneered with pop rap, afrobeats, alternative R&B & electropop as Bryson invites listeners into a world where genre boundaries are not only crossed but reimagined in vignettes of his love life.

Score: 2.5/5

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Matt Champion – “Mika’s Laundry” review

Woodlands, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Matt Champion releasing his full-length solo debut LP. Someone you may know for being a founding member of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective alongside Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Merlyn Wood & JOBA. He also released a solo EP Harley in the spring of 2017 right before the classic SATURATION trilogy but now that the best boy band since 1 Direction broke up a couple years ago already, Matt’s stepping up to the plate by releasing Mika’s Laundry following Slime in the Ice Machine & Blanket.

The self-produced “Green” starts us off smoothly talking about that Alabama blue whereas “Aphid” featuring Dijonfuses neo-soul & alternative R&B with additional elements of pop rap, psychedelic soul & even bedroom pop asking if one can say hallelujah for him to know they’re wild. “Steel” featuring Dora Jar brings a funkier groove to the table instrumentally not minding if his lover asks him to hurry, but then the vibrant albeit woodwind-driven “Gbiv” talking about blowing the paint like a piston.

Meanwhile, “Purify” groovily asks if he can trust this individual just before “Dogfish” mixes indie rock, art pop, slowcore, neo-soul & experimental hip hop all into 1 talking about the kind of smile people say he has. “Code Red” gives off a melodic trap flare thanks to Jabari Manwa hoping his lover is ready to go leading into the synth-heavy “Aren’t You Excited?” talking about wanting to be a part of her world except that he’s stuck inside a video screen.

“Slug” crosses over electro-disco, neo-soul boogie, synth-funk, synthpop & psychedelic soul desiring someone he’d never leave no matter what he does while the summery “Everybody Likes You” asks his partner what they do when no one else is around. “Project” acoustically gets reminded why he let an ex of his go while “Slow Motion” featuring JENNIE dabbles with atmospheric liquid drum fusing that with adult contemporary, art pop & alt-pop talking about moving slowly. The delicately-produced closer “Meetin’ You” finishes Matt’s first solo album never needing another thing.

Kevin went for a completely different sound on Blanket last fall & for anyone who liked the alternative R&B/neo-soul direction that Harley took months before BROCKHAMPTON’s popularity skyrocketed, you should know what you’re getting yourself into on Mika’s Laundry. Matt’s continuing to reveal his artistic range with his passionate songwriting/vocals generally going for a predominant alt-pop feeling with undertones of alternative R&B, neo-soul, pop rap, art pop.

Score: 4/5

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Flo Milli – “Fine Ho, Stay” review

Flo Milli is a 24 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Mobile, Alabama who went viral in 2018 off her charismatic “Beef” freestyle. She then signed to RCA Records & put out her debut mixtape Ho, Why Is You Here? a couple summers later following by the full-length debut You Still Here, Ho? nearly 2 years later. So continuing the biyearly work cycle, it’s only right that she returns with a sophomore album since spring’s coming up.

To get us started, “Understand” acknowledges that she’s different from all these other women in the game over a Memphis style instrumental from Bugz Ronin whereas “New Me” featuring Anycia works in synthesizers & hi-hats thanks to Honorable C.N.O.T.E. talking about feeling like a brand new person. “Got the Juice” cautions that she’ll beef with you forever if you go at her first over a thunderous Kid Hazel beat, but then “Neva” featuring Monaleo refuses to conform with the help of Juicy J, Lex Luger & Purps providing a bit of a wealthy atmosphere.

“Never Lose Me” featuring Lil Yachty which I like more than the remix featuring Cardi B & SZA mixes pop rap with pluggnb, trap soul & even chipmunk soul affirming self-worth leading into “Toast” dabbling further into plugg courtesy of Cardo telling her ex to leave her alone. “Can’t Stay Mad” gets more melodic explaining she can put the bullshit behind when he loves her a certain way just before “Edible” featuring Gunna finds Bangladesh blending a guitar riff with hi-hats talking about how hard the sex be hitting.

Moving on with the 2nd half, “Lay Up” moodily makes it clear that that’s exactly what she wants to do while the minimal “Life Hack” produced by ATL Jacob refuses to let anyone play her & that she can’t be replaced. “Clap Sum” returns to put hoes in the ground accompanied by a monstrous Mike WiLL Made-It beat & after “Tell Me What You Want” goes for a bouncier vibe asking her lover what he needs from her, the final song “Not Sorry” talks about being unapologetic over another plugg instrumental.

From the moment I heard her “Beef” freestyle, I knew that Flo was talented & that it was going to flourish going into the current decade as one of the best females in the game. Sure enough: Fine Ho, Stay ends the 4-year trilogy with the most intimate installment of them all. A couple spotty features here & there, but we get expansive take on her lively sound & we find all of her alter-egos colliding together.

Score: 3.5/5

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Kevin Abstract – “Blanket” review

Corpus Christi rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & director Kevin Abstract back with his 5th solo LP. Making his debut in 2014 in the form of MTV1987, he followed it up 2 years later with the fantastic American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story & rose to stardom as the de facto leader of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective the year after. Both of Kevin’s solo efforts since then ARIZONA baby & The Family were solid although I liked the latter more for it’s chipmunk soul heavy sound. However almost a year after BROCKHAMPTON’s disbandment, it seems like Kevin’s going for a new vibe on Blanket.

“When the Rope Post 2 Break” opens the album with some guitar passages from Romil Hemnani whispering to stay put whereas the title track is a mediocre indie rock cut with elements of noise pop & slacker rock which doesn’t sound bad, just feels extremely underwritten. “Running Out” draws inspiration from emo pop & even post-punk revival to not take time for anyone that this point in his life right now that is until “The Greys” comes through with an upbeat jam about not needing the rest of the party.

Meanwhile, “Voyager” goes into a synth-based direction with a bit of a Kanye influence so Kevin can admit that he feels himself growing older for the first time ever just before “Madonna” mixes bedroom pop with indie folk & indietronica singing about rewriting the past & not looking back on it from hereon out. The indie rock infused “Today I Gave Up” doesn’t really need any further explanation with the subject matter, but then “What Should I Do?” gives off a predominant indie pop flare to it talking about telling ghost stories to friends through fences.

After the “Mr. Edwards” interlude, “Scream” singing over a delicate beat to someone that he can only hear through the whispers of the trees while the catchy “Real 2 Me” apologizes for inviting himself & being spellbound by a friend. The stripped-back “Heights, Spiders & the Dark” checks his muses’ world every night to see if they’re alright making him so confused to keep all of them & “My Friend” is an acoustic closer singing that you’ll never understand the way Kevin feels about this individual.

This dude has so much talent & will easily have the biggest solo career out of everyone in the BROCKHAMPTON camp even though I just enjoyed the new Ameerlyn EP Slime in the Ice Machine from last weekend. However, Blanket is a complete stylistic departure from what we got on The Family. Romil’s production is more centered around indie rock & indie pop with elements of bedroom pop & slacker rock as Kevin has more than enough vocal chops to pull it off.

Score: 4/5

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Doja Cat – “Scarlet” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Los Angeles, California recording artist Doja Cat. Blowing up in 2018 off her viral novelty single “MOOO!”, was followed up the next year with her debut mixtape Hot Pink which was decent as a whole despite the fact that “Say So”solidified that she wasn’t going away anytime soon. Planet Her showed some improvement compared to her previous works by delivering a pop rap/R&B concept album based around a self-originated world. However, my expectations for Scarlet were higher considering that it was confirmed to be a full-blown hip hop effort.

”Paint the Town Red” stars off the LP by pulling from snap & chipmunk soul saying what she said whereas Demons” is an underwhelming no melody trap metal/horrorcore hybrid d.a. got that dopehelped put together laced asking if bitches are shook now that her pockets are on swole. “Wet Vagina” takes a roudier approach hilariously declaring herself to be the queen of drip, but then “F.T.G. (Fuck the Girls)” comes through with a trunk-knocking instrumental from Beat Butcha charismatically giving a middle finger to the hoes hating.

Meanwhile, “Ouchies” is a 2-minute riot starter laced by London on da Track & Sean Momberger with her popping it all off referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson just before “‘97” takes lavish route thanks to Jay Versace talking about how it looks like she genuinely doesn’t give a shit whatsoever. “Gun” moves the album forward with a cloud trap joint clarifying that she does in fact know how to use a firearm leading into the atmospheric “Go Off” flaunts the new materialism such as ice that she had recently acquired.

“Shutcho” ends the first half of the LP with a dreamier instrumental calling out those who be running their mouths nonstop while “Agora Hills” blends these hi-hats & icy synths getting on the more romantic side of things conceptually. “Can’t Wait” goes into luscious boom bap turf eager to being next to that special man in his life while “Often” gives off a funky neo-soul tone talking about this guy must do the bullshit he pulls on her quite frequently. Moving on from there, “Love Life” spaciously makes it clear that she loves when her life’s like this while “Skull & Bones” goes for a ghostly feeling sonically talking about the only thing she folds under is pressure.

“Attention” fuses jazzy boom bap with trip hop & neo-soul courtesy of Rogét Chahayed embracing herself as she disses the people who’ve disliked & hated her for her change in appearance in the public eye while ”Balut” pulls from g-funk a little bit too comparing it to takin’ candy from a baby. The “WYM” freestyle that rounds out the new best full-length album in Doja Cat’s discography finds her kicking it off the top for a couple minutes over an orchestral loop & hi-hats.

DJ Camper’s soulful beat on “Acknowledge Me” is a good way to get the deluxe rolling hating herself when you get under her skin while “Disrespectful” talks about a hustler who ain’t getting funds over piano chords, kicks & snares. “URRRGE!!!!!!!!!!” featuring A$AP Rocky draws inspiration from the Memphis scene fighting the urge to keep gettin’ rich while the playful trap cut “OkLoser” addresses a chick who left the team. “MASC” featuring Teezo Touchdown talks about being too grown for bullshit backed by a rich trap instrumental while the pop rap/trap crossover “Piss” produced by CashMoneyAP likens her diamonds to urine & “Headhigh” mellowly ends the bonus track run talking losing faith in humanity.

Doja Cat has proven before that she could rap her ass off so when it was announced that Scarlet was going to be predominantly built around that style, I knew it had to be better than Planet Her & sure enough: it is. She delivers some of her most passionate performances to date, the production is refined compared to the last LP & I like how she ditched to features to hold down the fort all by herself.

Score: 3.5/5

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SZA – “S.O.S.” review

This is the highly anticipated sophomore effort from St. Louis, Missouri singer/songwriter SZA. Emerging about a decade ago in the alternative R&B scene off the strength of her first 2 EPs SEE·SZA·RUN & S, she would eventually sign to Top Dawg Entertainment in the summer of 2013 & has since made herself home with the west coast label by putting out her 3rd EP Z alongside the RCA Records distributed full-length debut CTRL. But with the 5 year anniversary of the latter passing by over the summer, she’s returning in the form of S.O.S.

The title track opens things off with a stripped back instrumental from Jay Versace sampling “Until I Found The Lord (My Soul Couldn’t Rest)” by Gabriel Hardman expressing her desire to take what’s rightfully her’s whereas “Kill Bill” has a more spacious quality to it thanks to Carter Lang singing about how mature she is. “Seek & Destroy” however has a moodier vibe calling out someone who pushed her to her capacity, but then “Low” goes into trap territory talking about keeping shit on the DL.

Meanwhile on “Love Language”, we have SZA on top of an aquatic beat asking for transparency leading into “Blind” diving into more drumless turf confessing that she can’t see the things she needs & the love she seeks. “Used” returns to a more atmospheric quality courtesy of DJ Dahi singing about feeling like it’s over & something callin’ to get closer just before the seductive” Snooze” produced by Babyface & Leon Thomas III lets her lover know just how important he is to her.

“Notice Me” returns to a more trap-based sound explaining that she doesn’t need to be this dude’s lover while “Gone Girl” admits that she needs more space & security over a piano instrumental with some finger-snaps featuring co-production from Emile & Jeff Bhasker. “Smoking on My Ex Pack” goes full-blown chipmunk soul rapping about an ex of hers for 83 seconds while “Ghost in the Machine” ponders if one could distract her from all the disaster over a rich yet minimal beat.

Continuing from there with “F2F”, the guitars throughout were unexpected yet welcoming as SZA admits that she hates herself enough for the 2 of them while “Nobody Gets Me” keeps the acoustics around courtesy of benny blanco singing about being misunderstood by everyone except the person that she’s currently with. “Conceited” is a tropical trap banger acknowledging how introverted she’s always been while “Special” works in some more finger-snapping & an airy backdrop feeling like she’s a loser when I personally feel like she’s far from it considering I’ve been a fan of her music since high school.

“Too Late” has a more cloudy yet peppy tone to the instrumental as the lyrics address 2 lovers that’re dangerous for each other while “Far” talks about being unable to trust anyone & done getting fucked over with some synths & hi-hats laced together by Beat Butcha. “Shirt” comes through with an alternative R&B/trap hybrid admitting that she likes feeling lost while the Travis Scott-assisted “Open Arms” comes with a guitar-driven sequel to “Love Galore” talking about devotion.

The song “I Hate U” has some downchill/vaporwave undertones to it expressing her disscontempt for an ex in her life while the penultimate track “Good Days” is a remarkable neo-soul cut pulling from neo-psychedelia & chamber folk singing about focusing on the positives in her life. “Forgiveless” however is a boom bap closer starting off with a sample of “The Stomp” by the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan & SZA calling out those disrespecting her behind her back.

Between this as well as Kendrick’s latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers alongside Ab-Soul’s comeback effort Herbert dropping next weekend, 2022 has been the best year that TDE has had in quite some time. The production is more contemporary, yet her songwriting is as strong as before & her performances come off as genuinely passionate. Whether she actually quits making music or not because she’s been teasing it forever now or we get a new body of work from her at some point, anyone who loves the alternative R&B trailblazer as much as I do would consider this a welcoming return.

Score: 4/5

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BROCKHAMPTON – “T.M. (The Mountain)” review

BROCKHAMPTON was a hip hop “boy band” that originated in San Marcos, Texas in 2010 via the “KanyeToTheForum under the original name AliveSinceForever. But when things started to look good for them after they released the SATURATION trilogy to universal acclaim in 2017, one of their founding members Ameer Vann was kicked out midway through the following year due to sexual misconduct resulting in the boys’ next 2 albums following iridescence & GINGER were both released to moderate reception. ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE however became their best post-Ameer album a year & a half ago at this point but after announcing their disbandment following their Coachella performances this past April & only a day after their de facto leader Kevin Abstract dropped his new solo effort The Family, the boys are getting back together one last time for their 7th & final album.

“F.M.G. (Fuck My Gang)” is an aggressive trap opener produced by Kiko Merley & JOBA with Dom McLennon & Matt Champion accompanying Kevin to quit being humble whereas “Animal” finds Jabari Manwa, Kevin & Matt talking about turning into beasts over a cloudy Romil Hemnani instrumental. “Listerine” though returns to trap territory as Dom & Jabari addressing a bitch that’s tripping ’cause it’s less on them prior to the playful sounding “New Shoes” with Kevin, Dom, Matt & Merlyn Wood assuring everyone that the group is still on good terms with one another even though they’re disbanding & Matt wanting a house in 大阪 or the home prefecture of former 3-time WWE women’s world champion 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion 明日華.

However on “Keep It Southern”, we have Kevin & Merlyn over a trap beat with some synths paying tribute to their Texas roots just before “Man on the Moon” dives into more melancholic territory with a cool dance break at the end for Kevin & Matt to talk about wanting to make out with their lover on the actual moon itself & the hook is probably the catchiest on the album. “Better Things” is pretty much a moody Kevin Abstract solo cut with Matt on the hook & an outro from JOBA to speak on the next chapter of their lives just before “Crucify Me” works in some live drums & pianos for Kevin & Matt express their desire to rewind & pretend that they knew what they were in for with a crazy instrumental outro pulling from jazz music.

The song “Duct Tape” has a more booming quality to the instrumental as Jabari, Matt & Kevin admitting that they don’t have anything to talk about anymore as a unit while the penultimate track “Always Something” shoots for a more melodic approach as Dom, JOBA & Kevin sing about letting motherfuckers in something they should know. But then, “GOODBYE” serves as a bittersweet EDM-influenced coda with JOBA & Matt talking about not the “best time of our lives” for granted.

I’ll never forget seeing the SATURATION artwork everywhere when that album was first released when I was 20 & it prompting me to check out their music because it was good enough to make me to stick around for the whole ride, to which I’m happy I did because this was great swan song from them. I like how they fuse elements of trap, alternative R&B, cloud rap & even neo-psychedelia with their west coast pop rap style as everyone braces themselves for the next chapter. And before I end this review, I just wanna thank BROCKHAMPTON for all the dope music they’ve given us in the last 5 years & I wish them all nothing but the best going forward.

Score: 4/5

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Kevin Abstract – “The Family” review

This is the 4th full-length album from Corpus Christi rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & director Kevin Abstract. who made his debut in 2014 with MTV1987. He followed it up 2 years later with the fantastic American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story & then the following year, he rose to stardom as the de facto leader of BROCKHAMPTON. But with their 7th & final album T.M. (The Mountain) coming tomorrow, Kevin’s re-emerging on his own with The Family marketed as a group project only to fulfill their RCA Records contract.

“Take It Back” is a chipmunk soul opener with Kevin admitting that he had to wash the blue paint off to set himself free & promising the next chapter to be everything whereas “RZA” works in another pitched-vocal sample from bearface talks about having to be more like The Abbot himself after speaking to his mother the other day trying to give him advice. “Gold Teeth” looks back on the early days of the boy band over a crooning loop kin to “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson just before “Big Pussy” has more of a jazzy boom bap flare to it asking to stop harassing him because the show’s over.

Meanwhile on “All That”, we have Kevin admitting that the boys’ success came with problems of becoming rich with an amazing interpolation of the theme song from the titular Nickelodeon show that I grew up watching leading into “(Back from the) Road” reflecting on the Love Your Parents tour over a jangly instrumental. “Basement” has a more experimental quality to the production acknowledges his love for the fans despite that they’d kill him if they could, but then “Southside” tells those to stop actin’ like they know him over a sample-based trap beat.

“Good Time” has a more drumless approach to it speaking on the days when the boys played their final shows in London while the syrupy sample throughout “37th” is a cool ode to their Texas roots talking about ending up on the titular street if he could fly through a Cali night. “Boyband” weaves a gospel loop into the fold à la Kanye West’s last finished full-length DONDAacknowledging that they’ve always been outside of the lines while “Any Way You Want Me” asking what if he could change for us because we have him everything over a guitar.

Moving on to the title track, where Kevin jumps on top of a peppy beat with no drums talking about those not knowing shit about him while “Prayer” is a more melodic cut with some bare synths asking God not to make him grow up because he doesn’t want to move on from this amazing chapter in his life. The song “My American Life” goes in depth of how far he’s come in the last 7 years over some acoustics while the penultimate track “The Ending”samples “Let Me Be the One” by Willie Hutch asking if this is the way we all visioned the demise. “Brockhampton” though is a symphonic closer to the album with Kevin bidding farewell to the best boy band since 1 Direction.

It’s pretty much a Kevin Abstract solo effort labeled as a BROCKHAMPTON album & I’m assuming that’s the case because of contractual reasons, but I happen to think The Family is the best thing Kevin has done since American Boyfriend only 6 years back by now. He comes from the heart as he reflects one last time on the journey he & the boys have been on together with the production pulling from chipmunk soul, drumless, jazz rap & gospel. Considering that, I think TM will be a remarkably bittersweet swan song when it drops tomorrow.

Score: 4/5

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Young Nudy – “EA Monster” review

This is the 9th mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Young Nudy. Despite being cousins with 21 Savage, he eventually carved a lane of his own in the last 8 years with his last 8 mixtapes (the most notable one being the Pi’erre Bourne-produced Sli’merre) & 2 full-lengths. Rich Shooter just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary a few days ago & Nudy’s re-emerging in the form of EA Monster.

“Nun to Do” is a bassy opener describing being spaced the fuck out whereas “KitKat” works in some quirky synths thanks to Pi’erre talking about having deadly assassins. “Impala” takes a ghoulish route for him & his homie to creep in his whip, but then “Fresh as Fuck” brings back the synths warning that you don’t want no smoke with him.

Meanwhile on “Lunch Meat”, we have Nudy over a cloudy instrumental talking about being a stepper leading into the solemn yet rubbery 4L anthem “My Gang”. The delicate synths throughout “No Chaser” are a nice touch talking about itching for a body just before “Ready” shoots for a moodier aesthetic to deliver an ode for all of those who like to get high.

The song “Sick of Slime” lividly calls out every single dick rider he knows while the penultimate track “Duntsane” wasn’t the best choice for a single in my personal opinion despite the gangsta rap themes & the beat that Coupe brings to the table. Primarily because I personally felt that Baby Drill’s performances compared to Nudy’s was underwhelming. “Project X” however sends the tape with a rowdy fight anthem not for the bitch made.

Nudy had always been consistent throughout the course of his career & EA Monster further cements his status as such in my eyes. He delivers some animated performances/sticky songwriting throughout, I like how he toned it down with the features compared to Rich Shooter & the production is a healthy mix of Coupe & Pi’erre’s respectively unique sounds much like his last tape was.

Score: 3.5/5

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Latto – “777” review

Latto is a 23 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who won the very first season of The Rap Game & eventually turned down a deal with So So Def Recordings because it wasn’t enough money. She eventually broke through a couple summers back after signing to RCA Records & putting out her full-length debut Queen of da Souf, which I personally thought was just mid. However given her recent singles, I was definitely interested in checking out her sophomore album over here.

The title track is a 2-part opener with the first half on top of a cloudy trap instrumental from Sonny Digital with the other mixing choir vocals to reaffirm her Queen of da Souf status. 21 Savage tags along for the phonk-influenced “Wheelie” getting raunchy whereas “Big Energy” samples “Fantasy” by Mariah Carey & “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club encouraging listeners to believe in themselves. Childish Gambino & Lil Wayne come into the picture for the undeniably catchy “Sunshine” produced by Bongo to talk about feeling good, but then the Lil Durk-assisted “Like a Thug” goes into a more striped back direction for a lust anthem.

Meanwhile on “It’s Givin’”, we have Latto going full on Dirty South with the help of Pooh Beatz & JetsonMade for a dedication to all the boss bitches out there leading into “Stepper” having a Detroit trap quality to it getting on some Bonnie & Clyde shit even though Nardo Wick’s verse does not thing for me at all. “Trust No Bitch” basically speaks for itself on top of an aggressive d.a. got that dope beat just before “Bussdown” with Kodak Black finds the 2 for a glossy braggadocio tune produced by OG Parker. The song “Soufside” breaks down how it be where she’s from with a string-heavy backdrop while the penultimate track “Sleep Sleep” is an entrancing ballad produced by BoogzDaBeast about sleeping naked. “Real One” ends the album with a bouncy Pharrell instrumental admitting that she feels disrespected.

If you haven’t been sold on Latto yet, then I think 777 would be the most important place to start because it has me appreciating her a lot more as an artist than I did when she initially broke out. Her songwriting has gotten better with the same thing applying to the production & the feature choices are a lot more consistent than they were a little over a year back.

Score: 3.5/5