.Larry June

The minimal, piano-sampling production with thunderous bass on Larry June’s brand new mixtape, Sock It to Me, is heavily indebted to Atlanta trap, but the San Francisco rapper (who is originally from Georgia) makes the Southern aesthetic his own with off-the-wall rhymes and adlibs that uninhibitedly bare his eccentricities. The adlibs, in particular, are the record’s most amusing and inventive feature: June peppers his blasé drawl with high-pitched calls of “yee-hee,” “sock it to me,” and the Austin Powers-esque “yeah, baby,” which he inserts between almost every line. These odd verbal tics complicate June’s nonchalant-sounding flow and cool-guy posturing, revealing a self-effacing, jokey side to the otherwise ice-cold lyricist. He performs at Venue in downtown Oakland on January 15 as one of the opening acts for Atlanta trap rapper 21 Savage. Wolfpack Keith (aka Stunnaman) is also featured on the bill. On Twitter, Keith and Larry June have been hinting at a collaborative mixtape for later this year. It should be one of 2016’s most interesting releases.