It was 2012’s Wut that introduced Le1f’s signature wonky hip hop sound to the masses. The young NYC rapper/producer’s trio of mixtapes have been a mishmash of highs and lows, with Le1f not quite delivering the well-polished product fans have been clamouring for. Now with the release of his first studio album, Riot Boi, Le1f has answered the call with a tight 12-track package that goes above and beyond the scope of his other efforts.
Riot Boi is packed with the minimalistic future bass that’s been coming out of the NY queer scene for years. The sparse production approach leaves space to experiment with PC Music-style abrasiveness. Second track Rage uses these elements well, hiding behind pop charm before living up to its name with an industrial chorus that hits you like a sack of bricks.
The SOPHIE-produced Koi is a high energy, whirly electro track that just keeps rising, and it has a killer video to boot. Koi’s easily an album standout, but it doesn’t represent what the album has to offer overall. Umami/Water touches on issues in the trans community, while Grace Alek Naomi dissects Le1f’s inner conflict of black identity versus gay identity and the apparent incompatibility of the two. He tackles these issues without abandoning his sassy wordplay roots, taking time to say “I got that ménage for your twat.”
Riot Boi steers clear of the common pitfalls artists face transitioning from mixtapes to albums, where the album overreaches in content and production, ultimately coming off as inconsistent. Instead, Le1f has gone the other way, trimming the fat and breaking out of the hip hop underground with a short, sharp, high calibre debut.
BY MICHAEL CLARK
