After a promotional run-up that included standout singles “That Much” and “Type of Sh*t” with Wiz Khalifa (as well as some well-themed social media shenanigans such as C-walking on world monuments and reposting all the pictures of peoples’ pets he was tagged in, Compton rapper Buddy released his Mike & Keys-produced Magnolia EP today.
Buddy and the former Futuristiks Mike & Keys have a natural chemistry that stems from a common musical foundation in gospel and the music of the church, and it shows on the five-song project, which also features fellow Hub City spitter Boogie and Kent Jamz of Overdoz. Buddy sounds invigorated, using the much more conventional production to practice a wider array of flows and cadences than on Ocean & Montana, which was decidedly more experimental thanks to production partner Kaytranada.
If the album title gimmick wasn’t obvious yet, it looks like Buddy is taking his last few years of collective experiences and associating different vibes with different locations and street names around the Los Angeles area. He said, “I’m in a position where I’m not just picking up one energy from one location, I’m moving a lot,” so it makes sense that he would make those connections. Ocean and Montana are intersecting streets in Santa Monica, a more artsy, eclectic part of town, so that EP sounded much more ethereal and spacey. Magnolia sounds much more central, with harder beats and more straightforward, kicked-back-in-the-hood style rhymes. It’s a genuinely intriguing way to draw a map of LA, from one of the city’s most well-traveled residents. I can’t wait to see what streets he draws from next. You can stream Magnolia below.
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