Vallejo, California emcee Larry June returns with his 11th record. He’s been grinding away since dropping out of high school, dropping his last 10 studio efforts as well as 14 EPs and seven mixtapes, which include highlights from his ever-growing discography, including the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry , Cardo-produced Cruise USA & its sequel “Into the Late Night”, Harry Fraud-produced “Keep Going” and recent gangsta-influenced Jay Worthy collaborations “2 P’z in a Pod”, The Alchemist-produced ” The Great Escape” and “The Night Shift”. Nine months after the latter, Larry again promised he would do it for me.
After the “Free Uncle Herm 5” intro, the first song, “Magnum PI,” is a futuristic West Coast opener with him jumping out of a whip like a TV show star, while “Morning,” produced by Harry Fraud Calculations” is an early song. From the soulful instrumental to the lyrics suggesting checking out that bitch instead of checking him out, it’s all outstanding. “A Little While” sets a spacious vibe thanks to Jake 1 and DJ Khalil telling his love interest that she’s really good for him, before “Stinson Beach” continues with a funky ode to Don’t let your day become a mess.
“Honestly, Pt. “Detroit Trap 2” gave Detroit Trap a shot at detailing the gangster lifestyle he himself participated in, and Cardo brought the synths to another one of my favorites, “3 Piece,” “Where I’m Going” resurrects the Detroit trap vibe and warns no one wants to start a war with him, but “Meet Me in Napa” is a pretty spacious single. discusses his desire to meet a woman in the titular California valley.
The orchestral jazz boom bap flare of “Breakfast in Gold Coast” is a nice change of pace from Talking to His Sunshine, while “Imported Couches” keeps the strings, kick drum and snare together, fucking Not caring about getting hit, but focused on doing his thing. “Cleaning My Spot” retains the jazz influence and lets the drums work hard to achieve his goals, while “Like a Mack” makes trap music for the pimps.
“Dreams” progresses to the final moments of “Doing it for Me,” telling everyone who’s tired of this shit to come and sleep with the big dogs heading into dystopia, while “Cookin’ Soul” Money Bag” ends closer to the end. Connect a soul sample and tell the world that your people will snake bite you, others may attack you, and hoes will toy with you for the newspapers.
It’s worth noting that I found many of the singles on Doing it for Me to be average enough that while I found myself liking many of the songs on the new album better, it left me with lower expectations for it than on Doing it for Me The Great Escape” and “The Night Shift”. The glitz and glamor of guest stardom is completely thrown out the window, instead delivering lovesick bars over classic West Coast funk beats, re-establishing his status as one of the smoothest voices in hip-hop today.
Rating: 7/10
