HYPNOS, Ravyn Lenae (7/10)

Umm, I just learned Ravyn Lenae is 23????? My fucking age. And she's been putting out music for years now!!! Wild. Anyways, she just dropped her first full length album after a couple of EP's. I was super psyched after hearing the first single that dropped, "Skin Tight" featuring Steve Lacy, which I really fucked with. The album definitely lived up to expectations if not exceeded. The production is amazing; her vocals are stunning, and she draws from a variety of inspirations; you can hear the kind of funky bass line from Steve Lacy in a few of the songs, and I hear some Solange sometimes too ("Higher" reminds me a lot of Solange's latest album). It is a technical masterpiece for sure, and the only reason I didn't give it a higher rating was that it felt a little long for me and I think there were a few songs I might have left out that sounded kind of similar. My favorites were when she got more experimental (like the opening track)/or traversed genre getting into some more funk stuff rather than her usual bedroom pop/r&b (which she clearly excels at). Overall, it's a good album and a good official debut for her. Oh also the folks that she chose to feature?? Impeccable. We got some Mereba, Steve Lacy, Smino, Fousheé?? :o Favorite tracks: Cameo, Skin Tight, Mercury