ONE Fáris

Larry June has been on the steady ascent with a consistent catalogue, a multitude of projects serving as seeds to which we’re now seeing him reap the oranges of that labour in the past couple years. An underground fan favourite blurring the lines between the mainstream, he cements that independent run uniting with the legendary producer The Alchemist.

A natural progression for the California rapper, many were curious of what to expect of this collaboration with The Alchemist, who himself has comfortably created his own cult of composition connoisseurs. With the rapper’s laid back flow and melodic spin, and Al’s recent run of stout production (for the likes of Roc Marciano & Boldy James), this link up had both sets of enthusiasts intrigued. Off the rip, Turkish Cotton sets the texture, with Larry in his element over the soft intro, which leads perfectly into 89 Earthquake, one of the first releases from the project, any confusion of their contrasting styles is put to rest, and Larry appears comfortable over the sample-driven production, his ability to weave words is already meshing with Alchemist’s movie score feeling, further confirmed with Solid Plan, meeting in the middle, featuring Al’s longtime collaborator and friend, Action Bronson. Before you can judge, Palisades starts, and as Alchemist kicks it up a gear, Larry June is right beside him, flowing easy over the hypnotic production with the motivational raps, the two almost merge, allowing for Big Sean to debut over an Alchemist beat with a stand out feature.

By the fifth track, it’s evident that these two are the match we never knew we needed, on the Ty Dolla $ign featured Summer Reign, it’s nothing short of picturesque, allowing the music to speak for itself, down to the outro switch, allowing Larry to talk that talk. Orange Village sounds like classic Alchemist, but once again, Larry comfy as ever, even bringing his smooth crooning hook to the forefront, assisted by the notable Slum Village. The quality of the project is undeniable, Porsches in Spanish helps the continuity of this luxurious audio, and sets the scene for Art Talk, aligning Larry with Griselda’s Boldy James. The chemistry between two is present on tracks like Ocean Sounds, where it feels more like the perfect backdrop for what we have come to love from Larry, as he gives us his classic style of aspirational rhymes and harmonies back and forth like the ocean waves. By now there is no denying The Great Escape to be more than we imagined, two worlds perfectly colliding, from the Evidence featured Left No Evidence, to it’s contrasting What Happened To The World? ft. Wiz Khalifa, the two trade their styles back and forth through the sequencing of the project, bringing us to my personal favourite Éxito (I couldn’t tell you how many times I listened to this on repeat), it’s a further testament to the ability of both parties, bringing the wavy Jay Worthy along for the ride. Usually with collaborations, it’s one in the other’s world, but 60 Days is another example of their unison, as that Larry June inspiration is present over The Alchemist’s cinematic sound, treating fans further with the aptly titled Barragán Lighting, featuring Joey Bada$$ and the New Orleans legend Spitta (who himself has a classic project with Alc). The curtains are drawn on this tape with the soulful Margie’s Candy House, a downtempo canvas with it’s soft sample that concludes Larry’s recurring theme.

At this point you’ve gone back to the start to hear it all over again. The Great Escape exceeds expectations and whether some songs garner more replay than others, fans are already excited at the prospect of a sequel, as what started out as a cool collab is now a sure contender for Album of the Year.