The Golden State is the official nickname for California, which often times, feels very appropriate due to the scalding hot temperatures that provide us with an almost endless summer. Thankfully, California also breeds extraordinary talent to supplies those endless summers with genre defining songs and left legacies that have shaped the state’s culture. DJ Quik, Dr. Dre and Snoop gave us G Funk; YG and Mustard gave us the beauty that was Jerkin era; and now the coinciding movements of LA’s “Traffic Music” (as RonRonTheProducer likes to call it), and the Bay area revival, led by SOBxRBE. The group team up with legendary producer Hit-Boy, who continues to add to his impressive repertoire of west coast collaborations including Dom Kennedy and Nipsey Hussle.
On Family Not A Group, Hit-Boy’s production mixes comfortably with the group’s brotherly chemistry, with bouncy bass driven beats that complement the group’s lively style as we see them at their best on much of this album. “Both Sides“, the second song on the album, is a hard ass banger plain and simple, and also happens to be Lul G’s only appearance on this album for whatever reason. Slimmy B’s smooth flow and accompanying verse really shine through the most on the production, and actually on the entire project. Slimmy B’s delivery and flow is fantastically infectious like such as his verse on “Ran Off Wit It”, “Scoring”, and his entrance on “Can’t Fold”, where he also drops great lines like “If the court ain’t got no witness, then the case gone.”
But the best moment in the project comes on “WYO” with Yhung T.O. and DaBoii. There are plenty of terrific T.O. hooks and verses on this album, but the versatility of his voice is used in its full capacity to the delightfully smooth beat. DaBoii follows suite as his flow is more relaxed and intimate than we usually see him. It’s fucking great. Although it would’ve been nice to hear more of what Lul G could do with the help of Hit-Boy, his production brought out the best from his fellow family members as they say.
