Vallejo, Calif., emcee Larry June returns in the middle of the summer with his 13th record. He has been busy for two decades producing his last dozen studio works as well as 14 EPs and seven mixtapes, with discography highlights including the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry, the Cardo-produced Cruise USA and its sequel Into the Late Night, the Harry Fraud-produced Keep Going and, most recently, the gangster-influenced Jay Woran 2.-produced The Great Escape, Night Shift and Do Something for Me. However, more than a year since “Until Night Comes,” he’s asked the question “Who’s responsible?”
“Go Outside” blandly opens the shop and talks about not having time to mess around because he has money to chase, while “The Machinist” blithely discusses making bread in his sleep because he’s a gangster. “Casual Monday” gives off a heavy thug vibe, with Cardo talking about people wondering why he’s so fly, until “Better Decision” realizes he needs to make smarter choices.
Beat Butcha was behind the scenes on “Everything Liquid” giving it a gorgeous flare so he could make this shit rock and have the ability to make anything happen before my personal favorite single “Organic Motion” produced by DJ Fresh talks about feeling the freedom over a g-funk beat. “The Smooth Kind” works over some synths and boasts his moves like a smooth muhfucka, before “California Dream” featuring Jhené Aiko confirms their relationship as a pop-rap duet.
“Pretty Green Eyes” continues Jay Versace’s soulful vibe as “Who Coppin’?” “The second half of “The Movie” kicked off. Continuing to tackle more romantic themes, the B-Legit starrer “Win or Lose” finds the pair talking about how they’re each a heavyweight in the game. “3 Calculators” talks grandly about obsessive-compulsive disorder as long as numbers are involved, while “Flex” expresses disdain for Swizz Beatz instrumental haters.
The title track’s final verse is about walking through a hope box to find your heart, while “Organically Slidin’,” which samples DJ Quik’s “Something for the Mood,” is about staying fresh from head to toe. “Larry’s Diner 2” continues thematically from “Spaceships” on Blade, although I didn’t enjoy it as much as its predecessor, while “God Got Us (Ain’t Too Many)” talks about how not many people have come as far as he did on the album.
Every now and then, Larry June would drop something that I would find myself liking less than other entries in his discography, which made me painfully say “Who’s Coppin’?” He just released the Spiral Staircases EP nearly 5 months ago with Curren$y, and it’s probably the most mean sounding thing he’s done in years. There’s nothing wrong with his smooth flow or range of guests, but the production choices can be spotty at times.
