Luv 4 Rent / Smino / October 28, 2022
- Joshua Yoo
- Nov 7, 2022
- 2 min read
The evolution of Smino over the years since his last LP has been pretty amazing to follow along with, hearing his flows and stylistic inflections develop exponentially, and appearing on guest features all over the industry left and right. Building on the momentum, ‘Luv 4 Rent’ is expectedly incomparable to his past work, an album that reflects the culmination of his endless creativity, genre fluidity, and musical identity all in such a fun way.
Across the tracklist, Smino pushes a lot of his familiar sounds to new territory, melding different vocal cadences and harmonies together in increasingly unique ways that deftly fit the very wide variety of instrumentals. This creativity is at times almost a necessity, as the insanely smooth grooves on “Settle Down” or “Pro Freak”, for example, are practically only possible because of Smino’s incredible flows that match the same energy and character.
On the album’s more relaxed and slower-paced cuts, his singing elevates the many soul and R&B influences he pulls from and sparks a number of really sweet and heartfelt moments. The bright and breezy “Lee & Lovie” makes for a perfect lazy morning soundtrack, with the air of romance that Smino fondly sings to his love. And his bouncy vocal lines on tracks like “Blu Billy” make it impossible to sit still, moving to the swing of the instrumentals.
On top of all of these qualities, Smino exudes such a joyous energy in his performances, which really ties the album together as a mood lifter for pretty much any situation. Especially in the current landscape of rap, it’s a rare and beautiful mood that will hopefully be replicated by others going forward.
Highlight(s): Pro Freak, Pudgy, Settle Down, No L’s, Blu Billy, Lee & Lovie, 90 Proof, Defibrillator
Lowlight(s): Garden Lady
SCORE: 8/10
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