Lav's Music Corner

Kendrick Lamar is a California rapper who spent the 2010's becoming one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful artists in all of music. 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly  was one of the most universally acclaimed albums in decades and the follow-up 2017's Damn.  served to break Kendrick directly into the mainstream. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers  comes 5 years later and was released as a double album with no singles and very little promotional material. Review By Lav: How do I even start a review like this? If you asked me what my favorite album of the 1960's was, the 70's, 80's, 90's, or 00's I could give you an answer but only after an agonizing amount of pouring through my favorite records trying to separate something from the pack. Two and a half years ago when I called Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly  the best album of the 2010's it felt like a formality, the OBVIOUS pick. How do you tackle someone who climbed the mou...

Latto is an Atlanta rapper who has broken out in recent years with tracks like Big Energy  and Bitch From Da Souf  as well as being named to the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. 777  is her sophomore album and follows 2020's Queen Of Da Souf . Review By Lav: While I don't think Latto has a particularly impressive back catalog thus far, I have always seen the appeal of her music, in particular her uncompromising personality. On tracks where she's lean into her confidence and demeanor she has been just as good as some of her best and most popular contemporaries, so it was no surprise to me to see her developing some more acclaim and commercial success. I wouldn't say that had me anticipating that 777  would be some kind of major breakout record, I was just hoping she would lean into that personality. Turns out she does, and the results are pretty solid.  A lot of discussion surrounding this record starts with one song, Big Energy . It has sort of become Latto's true comme...

Gunna is an Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug's YSL Records label. He broke out a few years ago on a string of features alongside Young Thug and a successful collaborative album between himself and fellow 2018 up and comer Lil Baby. DS4EVER  is his 3rd proper studio album and comes two years after his first #1 album Wunna  in 2020. Review By Lav: I was late to Gunna. When I first heard him on the back of his affiliation with Young Thug I was so sure that his prescence would be a passing fad that I passed on reviewing some of his early mixtapes. It wasn't until his Lil Baby collab Drip Harder  which spawned the first big hit of his career that I realized I couldn't ignore him forever. The first highlight of my interaction with Gunna's music and his fans was when an intern from his record label called me "an LGBT" on Twitter and used that as an explanation for why I didn't enjoy Drip or Drown 2  which honestly still makes me laugh to this day. Believe it o...

2 Chainz aka Tity Boi, aka Tauheed Epps is an Atlanta rapper who blew up in 2012 on the back of his hilarious and timely debut album Based On A T.R.U Story . Finding large scale commercial success with the project led him to release a quick follow-up the next year which became the less successful B.O.A.T.S II Me Time . After some very notable features and a huge gain in name recognition in the industry it all finally led 2 Chainz to release his best album since his debut, 2017's Pretty Girls Like Trap Music . With a sharper and effectively trendy sound 2 Chainz was thrust back into the spotlight and has been there ever sense as a short release cycle and some notable celebrity endorsements helped Rap Or Go To The League become one of the most anticipated releases of 2019 so far. Review By Lavender: 2 Chainz 2012 debut album Based On A T.R.U Story is a flawed album but one of the most hilarious and charming hip hop releases of this entire decade. His personality, hilarious lyr...