After a successful Great Escape with the legendary Alchemist last year, Larry June returns for the autumn, but this time he’s doing it for himself.
“You stay home all day, playing Call of Duty, but in reality, you don’t answer the call to handle your duty”
Starting with the 5th part of the now classic Uncle Herm series, speaking wisdom over some groovy instrumentation, leading to Magnum P.I., a wavy depiction of his elevated status, which is emphasised by the Harry Fraud produced Morning Calculations, “When you really got a goal, you gotta stick to it, I wake up early in the morning and grab my calculator”, he opens with. A Little While sounds like traditional Larry June, catered to the female fanbase, that happens to sit between two of my favourites, flowing cool over Jake One & DJ Khalil production, it helps set up the next track. As someone who wants to A&R a Larry June R&B album, Stinson Beach might be my favourite track. I don’t know why, as he speaks in the intro, I was just waiting to hear about marble worktops and Sicilian harvested Orange juice in a laid back flow, instead he turns into David Ruffin, and begins crooning, “I know, there’s things in life, that you..just can’t change, but when I’m not with you, baby girl, I don’t feel the same..”, it’s consistently great from start to finish, a result of the hours he’s put into his craft. It’s an effortless evolution of his penmanship. The mood completely shifts with the trunk-rattling Real Talk Pt.2, a grittier effort, a more assertive display over the bass-heavy beat. Track 7, Three-Piece, sees Larry June unite with popular collaborator Cardo and it’s just that, chill, catchy and encapsulates the Bay. The overall sound of this project captures essences of the Bay and West Coast in general, with his personal touch, portrayed in Where I’m Going (with it’s recognisable sample), proceeding, Meet Me In Napa, a more cinematic audio experience, almost serving as a trailer to Breakfast in Gold Coast. Track 11, Imported Couches, the early single, seemingly sounds more luxurious within the album, “What you gon’ do when then times get hard? What you gon’ do when the cheques stop coming?”, he raps, with an ability to detail a high-end lifestyle without it seeming disconnected from the listener, that shouldn’t be overlooked, adding substance with the aspirational themes to the braggadocios elements. The silk velvet texture continues with Cleaning My Spot (Interlude), a softer approach before the darker sounding, Like A Mack. I know there’s obviously another project in the works, so to be able to sequence a conceptualised body of work that feels organic, with no features (no gimmicks or reaching for streams), has to be applauded. One of the singles, Dreams, another modern day Bay-centric sound, helps complete the album on a high before the curtain closer, Money Bags, a Cookin’ Soul produced vibe, with it’s extended musicality really complimenting the project and neatly sets up for whatever is next.
Another good job Larry!
ONE Fáris 