Brooklyn native, rapper, singer, and producer Kota the Friend has definitely been busy cooking up projects consistently for the last four years. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the affable music artist jumpstarted his career with mixtapes Palm Tree Liquor (2016) and Paloma Beach (2017). Kota the Friend quickly made a name for himself using what has become his signature trap-infused, jazzy hip hop production reminiscent of an Acid Rap era Chance the Rapper.
By 2018, Kota released his full-length, debut studio album Anything. on independent label FLTBYS, which included the singles “Nola” and “Smile,” along with features from Hello Oshay, Angel Haze, and Childish Major. As the music project circulated, it made its way to major labels who were quick to offer the “Hollywood” artist a recording contract. Kota opted to stick to being independent to reserve creative control — a decision that he has not regretted.
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Continuing his streak of releases, Kota, real name Avery Jones, released his sophomore studio album, Foto, in 2019 to great reception, followed by 2020 projects Lyrics to GO, Vol. 1 and Everything, which charted on the Billboard 200. These projects sustained the foundational sound of his previous mixtapes, fine tuning the production and garnering a few heavy features, such as Joey Bada$$, Bas, and Kyle.
With an already formidable discography, it would seem like Kota would take a breather and ride out the success of his 2020 projects for a bit, but nope. Three weeks into the new year, Kota the Friend released the second installment of Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2. For those who are not acquainted with Kota’s music and this series, the Lyrics to GO are compilation albums based off of the same name used on his YouTube channel in which Kota raps over a beat for one to two minutes. In the second installment, it was revealed that all of the instrumentals were generated from “KOTA the Friend type beats” sourced from the online video-sharing platform.
Diving right into the 10-track project, Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 kicks off with “Clinton Hill,” a laid back, smooth instrumental with gliding electric piano throughout. Kota’s flow perfectly compliments the beat as he raps about his evolution from humble beginnings to his current state. He raps, “A lotta kids in Clinton Hill right now living through me / They see me in the street, take a pic and then peace.”
The next track, “Luke Cage,” is another buttery beat with more electric piano and groovy drums. Lyrically wise, Kota continues the discussion of celebrating his growth and independence. He raps, “I took all my problems and turned them shits into dollars.”
He transitions to “200 Dollars,” a mid-tempo song with a jazzy, almost old-timey sounding piano. Once the beat kicks in, it sounds like an instrumental stripped straight off of “Lo-Fi Beats to Study to.” Here, Kota spits more introspective lyrics that reveal his longing for a future where he can “own a home with porches and grass growin’ forever green / Dinner with the family, then pound cake and vanilla bean.”
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Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 rinses and repeats a similar formula for the remaining tracks consisting of a sleek instrumental and smooth introspective flows. Each track never lingers too long before hopping right into the next song. However, some of the highlights on the latter half of the album include the self-aware “Emotionally Dumb” and love-stricken “Pomegranate.”
The entire project stands at a quick 15 minutes in length over the span of its 10 tracks. Kota smoothly transitions from one song to another, rapping a verse before moving onto the next beat, as if he were doing a cypher. The whole concept behind a project like Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 isn’t to flesh out entire songs with hooks and choruses while altering the structure to keep an audience intrigued — this project is more of a target practice for Kota to keep his lyrical and production skills sharp. These vignette style songs are similar to Tierra Whack’s Whack World album, where each song is only a minute in length. It’s a modern format of music that Kota masterfully tackles.
Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 is a perfect starting point to get familiar with Kota’s music as a first-time listener. Vol. 2 is short and sweet, but has plenty of highlights to keep you salivating for more. Luckily, Kota has plenty of projects in his back catalogue to keep us satisfied until the next project drops.
You can listen to Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2 on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube and any other place where music is streamed.
