S*x M*ney Dr*gs＜Coloured Vinyl＞

What is most immediately obvious about Lucki’s latest LP, s*x m*ney dr*gs, is the space it offers the rapper to breathe. The FLAWLESS LIKE ME era marked the first major tonal mismatch of the musician’s career, with brash, overblown instrumentals clawing for auditory prominence, smothering his lyricism, and shaving off the qualities that separated him from his peers. It was a sidelining of the MCs unique narratives and cyclical, confessional presence on a track -- and, fortunately, a mistake that smd is quick not to repeat. The albums production suite is airy and optimistic; soothing mists envelop the brilliant "No Bap," open-road guitar lines underscore the synths of "Bby Pluto" and "Purple Heart Ski," and producer Bhristo paints "Pop Star" and "Karma a Bitch" with a refreshing level of dramatic flair. "Str8 Syrup," perhaps the most original-sounding track here, slinks with nocturnal energy, its cryptic instrumental lines weaving around Lucki’s motif-like speech like snakes. Yet, predictably, traces of FLM mark the project’s most inconsistent moments: although the brilliant "Super Ski" continues the scorching energy of "Y NOT?," lowlights "Almighty Tune" and "Gemini Love" inherit FLM’s tiresome, ear-blasting tendencies, with the latter drowning the rapper in a painfully saccharine soundscape. Lyrically, Lucki is on solid form, catching vocal pockets, employing addictive ad-libs, and delivering bars that emotively capture the complexity of a bittersweet fame. Standout tracks "New York," "2021 Vibes," and "Pop Star" markedly keep the circular flows and ad-libbing of his best material -- "I’m scoring lean in a scrimmage/He sip for an image/I never would give him a song," he muses on the former -- while slick motifs like "AMG the S/Codeine cowboy in the flesh" and "Real deal junkie but a businessman/I seal the deal with a seal in hand" set the pace in hypnotic, head-nodding loops. Some of the critiques levied at the rapper’s previous material appear briefly -- there are few verses that "lock" into a single flow and a couple of sub-par choruses (the nasal "You move sloppy" of "Gemini Love" proving particularly featureless) -- yet, despite one or two lackluster records, there’s more high-quality Lucki material in this release than in any of the rapper’s albums post-2019. S*x m*ney dr*gs is a course correction of an LP, steadying the ship into 2023, and it’s good to see Tune finding his footing here. ~ David Crone