On June 22nd, neo-soul duo Lion Babe released their latest project Sun Joint. It’s an eleven track mixtape with features from Brohogany, Junglepussy, Ruary, and Angle Haze. Jillian Hervey, the vocals behind Lion Babe, possesses an ethereal and soulful sound with great range. Comparable to the great Erykah Badu. Lucas Goodman, the other half of Lion Babe, holds his own on the production side of things with Sun Joint, instrumentals filled with heavy drums, repetition, and spacey sounds seem to be his drug of choice. Different musical genres such as pop, electronic/dance and funk can be drawn out as influences from the tracks.
Sun Joint embodies summertime. The upbeat production goes hand in hand with the happiness one feels during the warmer months. The lack of an actual theme in Sun Joint is a reminder of the carefree attitude many of us take on during the summer. For the most part, Hervey and Goodman make a great team. However, at times the instrumentals seem to drown out the vocals making it hard to focus. The lack of an actual theme while it works for this mixtape, it is difficult to see exactly what message is Lion Babe trying to get across, if there even is one.
Tracks such as “Endless Summer” and “Still in Love” are most definitely island inspired. “Still In Love” even samples Sean Paul’s “I’m Still In Love with You.” If you close your eyes and listen for long enough, you can feel yourself being transported to the beach. Songs like “Jungle Lady Remix PT 1 takes a second to slow things down a little. It’s a smooth joint and Raury’s appearance elevates that factor.
Sun Joint is a decent body of work. A few things could have been tweaked and perfected a bit more before its release. But it still highlights their unique style and sound. Sun Joint won’t convert you into a total Lion Babe STAN, but it’s enough to keep you interested and on the lookout for more music from them.
Rating: 3/5
Best Songs:
“Rain Drums”
“Jungle Lady Remix PT 1” ft Raury
“Jungle Lady Remix PT 2” ft Angel “Haze”
https://youtu.be/45GIbnz58_U
https://youtu.be/w0oCunT5Fzc
