by Elizabeth Braaten (@elizabethbwords)
7xvethegenius and DJ Green Lantern return with The Genius Tape — and it’s every bit as brilliant as the name would have you believe. The ten song project clocks in at just under 29 minutes long, but 7xvethegenius makes every second count. The Genius Tape is packed with witty lyricism, introspective self-reflection, and lush imagery, making this one of 2023’s most compelling hip-hop offerings to date.
7xvethegenius (pronounced Love The Genius) hails from Buffalo, a city with an artistic side that helped shape her into the creative force she is today. Music has been a part of the MC’s life for as long as she can remember, sparking a love for the craft that pushed her to start recording in the studio when she was just ten years old. That passion has stayed with her to this day — The Genius Tape is the latest in a series of strong offerings and follows 2022’s Self 7xve 2 and 2020’s Self 7xve.
Now, 7xvethegenius is building on the momentum she’s earned from the success of those projects. She recently featured on fellow Buffalo artist Conway the Machine’s WON’T HE DO IT, providing a stellar verse for the album’s titular track that landed her a spot on Complex’s “The Best Rap Verses of 2023 (So Far)”. With DJ Green Lantern, who first rose to fame as the official DJ for Eminem’s Shady Records, providing production for The Genius Tape, 7xvethegenius is making waves throughout the rap industry.
The MC shows us all her sides on the project, flexing her storytelling ability over DJ Green Lantern’s sleek beats. She stuns on the tape’s opener, “Meditation,” which is every bit as introspective as an early 2010s Drake intro. Just as it’s a statement on the hell she’s been through to get to this point (“I’ve been clearing my head/couple dead, and a few in the fed”) it’s also an acknowledgement of the heaven that now feels well within her reach (“I started off in the basement, a pen and pad/now we pull up, Rolls Royce, and I’m in the back”). She knows that she’s worked hard and deserves to be here, too. The MC acknowledges that it’s time for her to “start talking my shit on these records,” on “Back End Development” and proceeds to do just that, spitting explosive bars over DJ Green Lantern’s gritty instrumental.
7xvethegenius doesn’t shy away from emotional complexity, either, skating through boasts like “I rhyme like I’m Basqiuat” (“Brain Food”) as effortlessly as she expresses hard truths to an absent loved one on “Lost On Mars” (“And you love this shit/’cause you feel way better with ops than you do facing the truth”). Of course there’s the stellar “Brainstorming,” where she reunites with Conway the Machine for luxurious raps that are pure magic over an eerie, atmospheric beat. 7xvethegenius’s raw lyricism is a match made in heaven for DJ Green Lantern’s silky production, making The Genius Tape an essential listen for hip-hop fans. Throughout the tape, the MC is humble, proud, vulnerable, resilient, and everything in between, but above all? She’s The Genius.