Does that mean backpackers will flock to Herb? Nah, he's got a different type of lyricism. Herb's not going to come at you with perplexing wordplay and wittiness is an adjective that can seldom be used when describing his music. Instead, he uses his barrage of barreling flows to paint his hometown from the viewpoint of a native fully emerged in the culture. A large portion of his imagery can fly over listeners heads, I'll admit it took me a few listens to get past the jaw-dropping intensity of the appropriately titled "Four Minutes of Hell Pt. 3", but beneath the chaos is a writer talented beyond his years. Herb's depictions of the streets are presently his livelihood, but he's a smart dude who knows he can't spend the remainder of his career talking about killing people over heavy Lil Chop (Fuck, I've typed "Lil" a lot) instrumentals. With that in mind, his debut mixtape Welcome to Fazoland arrives with a goal: perfect what the audience already expects, but stay away from the "one-dimensional" tag.
Welcome to Fazoland can be chalked up as an admirable attempt at accomplishing that goal. Its opening three tracks are high on intensity, with conservative, but still entertaining beats from the hands of Lil Chop, Chicago's go-to producer who's sound is now synonymous with the city. Herb's bars are kiddie-pool deep, but his noticeably deep voice is charismatic enough to hold attention. But still, those characteristics can be found throughout the city; Herb doesn't separate himself until "Fight or Flight", a critique of the police system over Blueprint-esque soul samples. The juxtaposition isn't the smoothest, but in a sense, that's what makes it work so well. Herb's harshest lyrics come spread throughout the tape, with "Mamma I'm Sorry", "Write Your Name" and "Still Fucked Up" ranking among the most graphic moments, but simultaneously containing the most soothing, melodic beats on the project. Welcome to Fazoland is short on drill innovation and heavy on incorporating foreigns sounds, but it radiants the confident cool of a rapper and his producers confident that they'll be taking the sub-genre to new heights.
Still, Lil Herb's greatest strengths are his rapping abilities. Aside from his above average lyrical tendencies, throughout eighteen songs, he displays a diverse range of flows and showcases his ability to carry an entire project. In essence, the mixtape is refreshingly cohesive, and our host's knack for keeping guests local (all features come from Chicago artists) makes for a connecting glue among talents. Sequencing is of importance as well, with Herb knocking out the uptempo bangers early on "At the Light" and "Koolin'", both built around tourettic drum patterns and crisp bass thumps that provide the landscape for the rapping.
Though its grows tiresome at times, Welcome to Fazoland's back half committedly illuminates the potential of Herb's sound. Aside from "The Corner" (the only real track you could hear on the radio, although it's quite good), Herb plays to his established strengths on the first eight tracks, but starting with "Designer" (probably the worst song on here), he gets more experimental. Whether it be through easing into melodic, commercial-friendly samples or continuing the soulful undertones, Herb plays with how he wants to be perceived as an all around artist.
As am attempt at showcasing Lil Herb's abilities beyond pure drill beats and violent lyrics, Welcome to Fazoland succeeds his goals by keeping it not overly ambitious and occasionally blowing past them with technicalities and charisma. As you can probably guess, there's times where he misses his mark completely and we end up with indistinguishable instrumentals and superficial themes, but that's to be expected from a young artist trying to figure himself out. Herb modulates from partied-out excess to reflecting on the troubles of his turbulent life rather well, steering clear of a mixtape filled to the top with only one of the previously mentioned topics. Welcome to Fazoland keeps the intensity high and its experimentation appropriate, and in the process delivers a much needed counterpoint to all the lyrical ineptitude, and drill overload coming out of Lil Herb's inner city peers that is equally rooted in the creativity of hip hop's current capital.
Rating: 3.5/5