MAVI: The Pilot

"His frequent allegro cadence accents how deftly he changes direction within verses. "Silent Film," set to mellow chords and a shuffling breakbeat, is casually breathless: "I roll the dough and cook it/Was juggin' cause in a world so cold, you just throw on a hoodie/I see the limit and push it, sneaking over the edge/Made a million off of my grief, none of my people rose from the dead," Mavi raps, subtly pausing-and stretching and compressing words-to keep the meter."

"But the elegant multipart horn and string loop of "Typewriter" is the most thrilling. Producer lilchick makes use of every little instrument and texture in the sample, creating a bounty of pockets for MAVI and Kenny Mason to run through with their slick double-times. "I was bred in the violence of poverty/I would die 'fore I feel it again," Mason raps, distilling the tape's hardscrabble ethos."

Mavi's vocals move between toasts, laments, threats and prayers, propelled by shifting flows and frequent allegro cadences that change direction within verses. "Silent Film" pairs mellow chords and a shuffling breakbeat with breathless, metrically stretched lines about hustling, grief, and solitude. The tape's mood often feels celebratory and jet-setting while turbulence and ambivalence persist under the surface. Production layers flute trills, soul samples, horns, airy keys and skittering drums into gnarled loops and textured pockets. Reuben Vincent's "G-ANNIS FREESTYLE" favors thick bass and lolled effects, while lilchick's "Typewriter" assembles multipart horn and string loops for thrilling double-time runs. Collaborations with Kenny Mason and Earl add hardscrabble ethos and sly plotting to the tape's narrative.

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