Welcome to Ear 2 Da Sky! Each week, I will be going over topics within music culture and reviewing albums and EPs across genres, eras and artists that are submitted by readers like you, and listeners of my radio show, ear 2 da ground, every Wednesday at 11 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM! For this week’s submission, I got up out of my bed and blasted Larry June, 2 Chainz and The Alchemists’ “Life is Beautiful” in my headphones.
This album is one of the more recent releases comparatively to the last few articles. Dropped on Feb. 7 of this year, “Life is Beautiful,” sits at a humble 11 tracks, which clocks in at just under 37 minutes. It’s an inter-generational link up between the three artists: The Alchemist, sprouting his career as a 14-year-old rapper in 1991, eventually pivoting to a producer a few years later, 2 Chainz starting out in 1997 as “Tity Boi” and Larry June starting his career in 2006 on MySpace.
“Munyon Canyon” opens the album as track one with June greeting the listener with aggressive compassion. June and his music have become synonymous to self-love and motivation, “Never had a job, never had a GED / But I done pushed every V12 you can think.” He loudly and proudly affirms himself through his tracks and this one is no different. 2 Chainz joins in on this self-motivative talk, but a bit crasser, “If I put my mind to it, I’ll get it eventually / Started off poor, but I’ll buy a ho, potentially.”
The Alchemist shows off his classic hazy production through his use of samples. The Alchemist’s production makes songs blend into each other in a way that seems seamless. This can be a double-edged sword though; while blending creates a homogenous experience, it can possibly remove the individual identity of a song.
“Colossal” is track two off the project. The Alchemist sets the tone with his production, as it’s that same hazy sound, but a bit murkier paired with a more serious tone. June and 2 Chainz follow suit, while still rapping in a self-affirming, boastful and braggadocious tone. “Modern architecture in my condo, bike GP Motor / Floor to ceiling windows, K rate, 40 with extendos / Sip of green juice, mack a bitch, biscuit with the muzzle.” The one thing that sticks out to me is June’s delivery of his voice. It’s very proper, sounding almost corporate. This can definitely be a conscious artistic choice, but it just takes me out of the song a bit.
Seamlessly transitioning into track three, “I Been” is one of the more popular tracks off the album. The beat is reminiscent of California weather and the Georgia sun beating down. Which is appropriate with June hailing from San Francisco, The Alchemist coming from Beverly Hills and 2 Chainz from Georgia. Comically, June will always find a way to uplift him and his people, “I put my team in position to win / Had to cut off all my hoes and just focus on yen.” The quality of a real team player.
It’s an interesting album — a good one. The Alchemist’s production will never not be good, 2 Chainz will always have a fun verse, June will always make me feel bad about how he and his friends are in better positions and that I am so incredibly broke (but in a good way). I think I just expected more as I definitely went in with high expectations, which ultimately ended up with me pulling the rug on myself, but that’s my fault.
Rating: 3/5
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