What’s good, Bird City?! June is in full swing and if you’ve peeped the latest BCV Playlist, then you know it’s hot! This week is another gem on the mighty playlist, the R&B/Hip-Hop sensation, Julius King, and his up-tempo banger, “LLLLLL”!
The track is a bumpy ride with Julius weaving his mixture of R&B/Hip-Hop sounds around snare kicks and beat breaks for a trippy experience. Julius makes this a standout track by changing the range of his voice, frequently. He lobbies back and forth between aggressive raps, and the hook, which has more of a RnB feel. The beat also peaks at times and then falls quietly several times during the song.
Julius has a unique delivery and ad lib structure as he croons over his adlibs, as well at the end of some of his bars. The song’s vibe is flush with energy with Julius shouting at times to make his point. The song concept and title is interesting as the subject matter is about him delivering L’s (loses) and he titled the song “LLLLLL”, which is several loses. Simple concept, but witty, nonetheless. The hook is simple, yet delivery potent with Mr. King shouting out:
I been delivery L’s/ haters keep living in hell/
they hoping that I’m a stop/ they don’t be wishing me well/
as soon as they hear me they know I’m on deck cause I got all the keys/
I fresh off the set/ true to the rep and I’m raising my fee/
I’m a bad, bad, bad man/ when I spit it, I get it all hype/
haters mad, mad, mad, big mad/ cause I get it and set it off right/
What makes “LLLLLL” really pop is the beat behind it. The beat rises and falls sporadically, and Julius does an excellent job parring his delivery around it. The Hook is arraigned over a section of the beat where the most movement (rising and falling) takes place and this is very ear catching. Julius’ sing-song style also makes the song very palatable for the average listener that might not be out for overdone metaphors, or hard to follow rhyme schemes.
The only area Julius slacked a bit on “LLLLL” is his lyrical prowess. Unfortunately, he errs on the side caution when it comes to delivering entertaining bars on this joint. Most of the lines delivered are very straight forward and lacking imagination. Bars like, “Must be under a rock/ must under the sea/ have you missing a stop/ have you missing a key/”, “I stay doing my thang/ making noise on the block/ it be lit when I talk/ got the shorties to flock/”, and “Feeling like Andre and Big Boy, so fresh and so clean/”, don’t offer much to hold your interest. Luckily the song sounds great and delivery was well thought out.
This week’s feature “LLLLLL” scores an 8 out of 10, this week for its unique sound, and quality mix, but falls just short lyrically. Julius has shown clear growth since his last mixtape release “Planet Guu” two years ago. “Planet Guu” is on his Soundcloud page, and is an awesome listen. He has another recent hit on his Soundcloud with over 7,000 views, in the uplifting “Sumn”. Julius is a must watch breakout artist to watch here in the Arizona Desert. Another week, another review in the books. Check back, next Wednesday, when we unearth more gold from the streets of Arizona. This is your man, Bo! Peace and love!
BIRDCITYVIEW 