Album Review
Quick-witted lyrics deliver Rapsody's new, absolutely relatable album
The hip-hopper's album, 'Laila's Wisdom', features A-List rappers
Image: Supplied
Fans of a bygone era in hip-hop who delight in complaining about how lyricism and artistry have vanished from the art form should listen to Rapsody's debut album, Laila's Wisdom, immediately.
As a hand-picked protégé of famed producer 9th Wonder, the burden of expectation on Rapsody's shoulders has been heavy and with Laila's Wisdom she's proved herself to be Atlas.
Even if the album did not feature guest verses from Black Thought, Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes and Anderson Paak, it would still be an emphatic nod to the idea that one can merge style and substance without being preachy.
What's apparent from the first song is that Rapsody can rap her ass off. Hip-hop often likes to bracket rappers by gender and tell us that "so-and-so is great for a female rapper", but Rapsody is a great rapper. Period.
One imagines that her verses on the second track, Power, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Lance Skiiiwalker, had Lamar (arguably the world's best currently active rapper) sweating as he penned his own.
LISTEN | To Power by Rapsody, featuring Kendrick Lamar & Lance Skiiiwalker
The video could not be loaded.
The album's subject matter also covers everything from life as a black woman in the US to the tentative first days of a relationship in a way few can do without sounding pretentious.
Combine this with 9th Wonder's delicious production and it's not hard to see how Laila's Wisdom could easily be a contender for album of the year.
• 'Laila's Wisdom' is available on all streaming services