Linafornia‘s name rings out in the Leimert Park beat battle scene. In March 0f 2015, I wrote of the accolades collected by the SP-404 scientist, while she contributed the “First Impressions Mix” to the Friday Night series. Her debut is a year in the making and today YUNG sees a preview stream via Los Angeles tape junkies Dome of Doom.
YUNG is the type of debut that feels like a lifetime of ideas at play. Her beat suites place her in the crate company of Dibia$e and Ras G, but Linafornia deviates on her debut in what feels like an autobiographical invitation. Maybe it’s the childhood photo album art? But, YUNG feels like Linafornia putting her life on record. A blip of a Jayo Felony vocal from “Watcha Gonna Do” on “hi shrimp” has history, like using your platform to shoutout your favorite cut from eighth grade. It’s a joke or a nod that only her day-ones will understand. For the rest of us, it’s a memory jog.
“Dot Wav” has gone through incarnations, but the addition of Devi Wonder solidifies it as a linchpin in the record with its toasting of “I got twenties, I got fifties, I got hundreds now!” From there Linafornia delves into more meditative sound work on “xtrctions” and “rar groovs”. It sets the stage for a victory lap of nostalgia on “gotchuallinCHECK!”, which reverses Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” for a screwed remix of Busta Rhymes’ ’95 hit “Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check”. Crowd pleasing triggers abound throughout YUNG and Linafornia makes an impression worthy of new best friend in the tape deck.
Linafornia’s YUNG is out January 22 on Dome of Doom and available on iTunes.
