Tag Archives: Warner

Aug 22 2024
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Larry June – Doing It For Me

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!

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Apr 17 2018
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TYuS – Phases EP

As R&B continues to find it’s way, meshed with rap, with the radio friendly/club hit dictating the direction, the more traditional soul sound has found itself in the shadows and often overlooked. So as the sound itself is not heralded as deserved, naturally, so are the musicians. I often give credit to PartyNextDoor and Ty Dolla $ign as musicians leading the new surge, with attention to songwriting, production and harmonies, capturing the classic essences with a more new-age delivery, and as more acts begin to breakthrough the barriers, with the likes of Jacquees, Ye Ali and Brent Faiyaz (to name a few), I recently came across an act, who is as futuristic as he is nostalgic, like a modern day one man Jodeci. Introducing TYuS..

His previous work shows those very essences, from the music to the visuals themselves, for example, I came across the video for his track Count On Me, and it reminded me of Usher’s Nice & Slow, only to dig further and find his cover of that song itself. Other songs like the underrated Between Us, highlight his fusion of old and new, and one of the more stronger vocal presences of artists out today. His recent EP, Phases, is 6 tracks of modern day R&B. Majority produced by himself, executive produced by none other than Hit-Boy, it’s a journey of emotions, crafted with mix of tempos, each song well written and executed even better. Starting with the strong, Think About Me

It helps not only introduce the artist, but establish the direction of the project overall. With it’s heavy bassline and soft melody, TYuS is able to vocally weave the feel of the record, something that he does effortlessly throughout his music. He has a natural tone that many try to emulate through autotune, this gives you that more subtle sounding tone, and any effects use are merely to add dimension to the song. Tracks like Get Down and Brand New showcase his versatility between a ballad and a club hit, where a song like Advice can be interpreted as a strong radio single. As much as his songwriting abilities are to be noted, with the way he orchestrates the melody, it’s his understanding to use his voice accordingly that helps give you a different experience with each song.

Phases, is a great addition for those already aware of the talent, whilst serving as an adequate introduction for new listeners, with a well chosen range of songs, and overall possesses that quality of playback value, with each track providing something different. I find myself having my favourites but then it changes over time, the more you listen. I’m surprised that he has managed to go under the radar for as long, I tend to think being in England is the case, but Warner need to recognise the potential and push him further because it is an injustice that he is not already being regarded as one of the hottest new talents out.

tyus

Click artwork to listen on Spotify

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