STL- born artist Smino, known for his creative wordplay combining funk, hip hop, and soul makes for a whole new sound never heard before. This is what separates him from everyone else. 

After dropping a multitude of EPs and singles throughout the early 2010’s, Smi dropped his first studio album, Blkswn in 2017. The following year he went on to make his first-ever Billboard appearance with just his second studio album, NOIR with songs like LMF, KLINK, and MF GROOVE. But he didn’t stop there.  This past week Smi dropped his third official studio album Luv 4 Rent combining forces with popular artists such as J. Cole, Lil Uzi Vert, and Doechii. 

Smino, born Christopher Smith Jr. on October 2, 1991, was raised in East St. Louis, surrounded by musical talent within his family. Smino was exposed to the sounds of jazz, gospel, and soul early on causing him to implement those sounds into his music, while also combing his own kind of spice to it, making his songs stand out like a white hair on black fur. Smino’s evolution within his craft has grown to be something absolutely crazy, and crazy in a good way. With the release of Luv 4 Rent, Smino fans have been increasing at the sound of his new hits, and I’m here to figure out the big question–is his music really that good, or are people overhyping it?

I’m going to get into the pros, the cons, and the best songs on the album, to make this review as straightforward as possible. Hopefully, this gets you intrigued and you start listening to the best artist born in St. Louis.

The pros:

The name of the album really correlates to the theme of the album. The “heartbreak/I don’t care about that girl/ I jus wanna give love” vibe of the album sets up the name for a great meaning. I feel like Luv 4 Rent is one of my favorite album names. Smino is very well known for his creativity and his ability to really stand out from everyone else.

The flow’s/ flow switches. Smino’s ability to rhyme and flow has been shown all throughout his career, with songs like Coupe Se’ Yern demonstrating Smino’s ability to speed up, slow down, and go slow while going fast. This man Smino even rhymed “In a Tesler” with “Electric slide” in a new song on his album titled Matinee. Try to rhyme that together right now for me, I’ll wait. 

The featuring artists he works with also really add to the perfection of this album. Luv 4 Rent features artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Doechii, Lucky Daye, and many more. They really add to the album with their abilities to combine with Smino’s unique sound, making for an insane tracklist. While listening to this album one person that I didn’t really expect to be able to match Smino’s style is Lil Uzi Vert. This man is known for carrying literally any song he’s on but for some reason, I didn’t expect him to go as crazy as he did but man he proved me wrong. The world needs more Uzi and Smi songs. 

The Cons:

I can’t even lie, I can’t think of a single bad thing pertaining to this album. The album is just too memorable and catchy. The only thing you could argue is length, and even then the length isn’t even that bad, running at a smooth 51 minutes with no pauses. For someone who isn’t really into funky/creative music, I would understand if they had some things to say about this album, like the way the beats and the lyrics sometimes don’t match up, but that’s just another reason Smino’s sound is so ear-pleasing. I think that all of my fellow Smino fans would agree, this album is no joke.

Best songs:

In my opinion, the best songs on the album, in no order, are No L’s, Matinee, Pudgy Ft. Lil Uzi Vert, Pro freak, Ole A** Kendrick, and Louphoria. Just because I only named these songs doesn’t mean the whole album isn’t good. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every song on the album, but someone like you who has never listened to Smino, these are the songs I recommend from the album. Not once did I think to myself, “man this song’s kinda trash” while listening to this album. Luv 4 Rent is a no-skipper and I want everyone to know that. with Smino it’s kind of hard not to enjoy his music. Stream Luv 4 Rent, out now on all platforms. 

Overall this album is one of my favorites this year, along with Montell Fish’s album Her Love Still Haunts Me Like a Ghost. Smino has been going crazy for years and I’m hoping with this article I can put some of you onto the greatest artist to come out of STL And I’ll stop everyone who’s already thinking it–Nelly is trash. 

Luv 4 Rent was really made with love and you can really tell, Smino never misses. This album gets a heavy 10/10 do recommend. I promise you if you read this article you will not be disappointed. If you’re a fan of Doja cat, JID, Kendrick and other unique-sounding artists, Smino is a perfect choice for you. Once again, stream Luv 4 Rent, out now on all platforms.