Larry June

Larry June makes the simple pleasures sound luxurious. Money, weed and women live in his raps, but so do trips to the farmers market, making smoothies and watering his plants. He speaks of a life not without its excesses, but a little more attainable than your typical mogul dreams. Maybe it stems from his throwback sensibility—he was born Larry Eugene Hendricks in San Francisco in 1991, but might as well be transplanted from the ’80s. Buoyed by a deep, leathery voice, his flows sometimes slow down and balloon into the punctuated styles of Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow, and his beats—often supplied by heavy-hitters Harry Fraud and Cardo—lean lush and jazzy like old Soul Train clips. Growing up between the San Francisco Bay Area and Atlanta, June absorbed the hip-hop of both regions, but he was most drawn to the dreamy crooning of Philly neo-soul star Musiq Soulchild. At the age of 20, he became a father, working odd jobs to make ends meet. From then on, June adopted a hustler’s mentality that resulted in a constant stream of new music. By the time the 2010s gave way to a new decade, a season without new Larry June to ride out to just felt wrong, although 2019’s warm and welcoming Early Bird is a solid pick to keep on repeat year-round. Spending time with his tapes is a little like kicking it with an old friend. And if his tag “Good job, Larry!” is any indication, he wants us all to work hard and give ourselves a pat on the back, too.