by Justin Davis (@AnkhDeLillo)
In preparation for their new album The Great Escape, you have to wonder if Larry June and The Alchemist stuck their fingers out into the wind, feeling out a direction that would split the middle between their visions of California. Although June split time between San Francisco and Atlanta growing up, his career solidified in the Bay Area. He’s spent his career as a bit of a journeyman: he signed a brief contract with Warner Records in the mid-2010s, touring with artists like Post Malone and Smokepurpp, and since then he’s been on a steady run of independent projects and entrepreneurship. On solo releases like Numbers, Orange Print, and last year’s Spaceships on the Blade, June often dips in bassy synth-funk and soulful trap, putting a low-key spin on the Bay’s eccentric, tapes-out-the-trunk sensibility.
When it comes to The Alchemist, who was born in Beverly Hills, it’s always easiest to start with what he’s been up to lately: Even with three decades of beats under his belt, he keeps a breakneck pace. Just in the past year, he’s dropped albums with longtime collaborators Curren$y and Roc Marciano; a three-song EP with Wiki and MIKE; a vinyl compilation of two 2018 EPs, Lunch Meat and Bread (playfully repackaged as The Alchemist Sandwich); and a 10th anniversary reissue of his No Idols tape with Domo Genesis. He’s done all this while appearing on projects from folks like Freddie Gibbs, the Griselda Records roster, Hit-Boy, and Kendrick Lamar, and incubating a new generation of rap stylists in his famed L.A. studio.
June and Alchemist met through a mutual friend and collaborator, the Vancouver-born, Compton-based rapper Jay Worthy; they’d released a handful of tracks together over the past few years before this new project. Still, a full-length June-Alchemist connection might not feel intuitive on the surface—Alchemist has said in interviews that he was initially unsure how their styles would mesh. The Great Escape manages to show off the best parts of both: it’s a muggy, cinematic slice of life that’s not afraid to go off the beaten path.
In some ways, The Great Escape’s sound palette feels similar to other Alchemist releases with warm, lush soundscapes: think of his 2018 collab with Curren$y and Freddie Gibbs, Fetti, or his lesser-known Yacht Rock projects from 2012 and 2019. Where those albums drew on sun-soaked excess and sleek Blaxploitation, June’s idea of luxury is more understated and reflective. Instead of backflipping off a diving board or sweating bullets on the Vegas Strip, we’re watching deposits hit our bank account from a plane—and we can see the clouds congealing around us. June comes from “the city of the fog,” after all, and The Alchemist captures this climate with shimmering watercolors: like the low, swinging horns and wavy synth line of album opener “Turkish Cotton,” the fat guitar strums and uplifting strings of “What Happened to the World?,” and the weighty, cascading keys of “Left No Evidence.” The retrospective closer, “Margie’s Candy House,” really sounds like the last scene of a movie: the bright, subtle horns bring us right back to “Turkish Cotton,” while its falling piano stabs and honey-sweet background vocals feel wistful without being melancholy.
June’s slick confidence, lifestyle raps, and laidback delivery immediately recall someone like Curren$y; his flows are versatile, fitting smoothly into a song’s pockets like a billiard ball. He also tends to focus more on sweeping portraits than zooming in on a scene. He’s choosy with his smallest details, focusing on flair and personality: sure, he’s talking luxury flights, lavish dinners, and libraries of cars—but he’s also putting chlorophyll in his water, “doing walkthroughs with contractors,” spending a thousand dollars on candles, and pondering golf matches in the Pacific Northwest. He’s loath to keep the secrets of success to himself, so we talk about investments, property, passive income: “start a corporation and bet on yourself every time / put ‘em on payroll, make sure your taxes right.” For every high point, there’s a “Solid Plan” that made it possible. He’s always reminding you of the hard work that came in between: for every stay in the Four Seasons, we hear about a cheap motel, an anxious phone call, hours on the highway, sales in the dark. Whether it’s work or play, travel in this album almost always feels purposeful. The cover art calls back to this idea: as a faceless figure speeds past the Golden Gate Bridge in driving gloves, bright colors filling our view, what takes up the most space is the hand at the wheel.
Throughout the journey, June’s supported by a solid cast, including a bunch of Alchemist veterans (like Boldy James, Evidence, Jay Worthy, Curren$y) and some major-label visitors (Big Sean, Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa). “We both have good Rolodexes,” Alchemist noted in a recent interview, and everyone folds their styles neatly into the album’s overcast optimism. Considering that mood, it’s interesting that several guests here hail from Detroit: James, Sean, and the current iteration of legendary group Slum Village. Speaking of Sean, the stuttering, off-kilter single “Palisades, CA” is perfect cannon fodder for him to stack brags and syllables like a Jenga tower. Action Bronson hops across the meandering organ notes of “Solid Plan” with a meandering verse of his own—in between references to Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Sopranos, he manages to get off an AI/Allen Iverson bar before Fabolous or Drake get the chance. Even Alchemist drops a few bars on “60 Days,” trading playful snapshots with June over an airy, drumless soul sample.
As relaxed as this album feels, it’s also intricate—full of little moments that make it instantly replayable. When springtime shrinks by about 30 seconds every year, The Great Escape offers a prescription: hop in the car, hit the water, celebrate your work, and stretch the season out a little longer.