Hip hop artist Lightweight Literate was born and raised in the suburbs of a small town called Yuba City, CA. Lightweight’s music reflects a “silver spoon” upbringing contrary to the average rapper. Many artists pride themselves on the struggle, but Lightweight Literate finds pride in the support of his loving family and fans. Lightweight Literate primarily delivers melodic choruses and aggressive verses. It is evident with each new track he is constantly striving to improve his craft and expand his fan base. Lightweight appears to have a continuing trend of paying homage to his heroes with each project name. In 2018, Lightweight Literate dropped his debut mixtape BLONDJAMESBOND and only four months later he released his newest mixtape WHITEWILLSMITH. You can hear the artist’s growth in the short time between projects. There have been rumors of an upcoming mixtape LLNOTCOOLJ but this has not been confirmed!
The first song on his tape, “WhiteWillSmith” was the perfect introduction to the tape. It highlighted the whole vibe for the mixtape and ironically it was titled exactly like the project. You absolutely felt his presence throughout the entire song. He was able to deliver a strong aggressive nature with witty lyrics and an addicting hook. It felt more like a “I'm coming” type of song where he’s letting us know that this project is going to create waves! After “WhiteWillSmith” the next song that transitions in is called “Squad Deep” and lightweight gives us no break from his hard-hitting lyrics and banging beat where i can envision myself listening to this single on 10 on my radio. One of my favorite noticeable qualities about the song had to be his flow. The way he was able to effortlessly deliver his bars without missing a beat and sustaining perfect breathe control was a stand out characteristic.
The next single off this project, “First Label” was completely different from the two songs prior, lightweight literate showcases his singing ability a little bit more with a trap, hip-hop sounding beat. His raspiness when he sings became more clear and it was pleasant to hear because it’s one of his special unique traits. The next song, “Gazuntite” was one of my personal favorites. The dark, hazy, and melodic trap beat completely captured my attention. Of course, Lightweight Literate was still able to switch his flow and style to become fitting to the song, and create a more personable effect. Of course, he sticks to his brand and his artistry. The next song to transition in and ”Me” begins with his hook of lightweight singing in a different language. Again, he showcases a little more versatility and shows that he is a multifaceted artist and can deliver pretty much anything and twist it into his own swag.
The next single “Ripped Pages” was another one of my personal favorites. His humming in the beginning with a soothing and canorous tune was relaxing and showed the more subtle and vulnerable side to him. “Ripped Pages” gave the melancholic sprinkle to the progressive and belligerent mixtape which was a good addition to brand himself as a more well-rounded rapper. You can’t really expect what’s next from him. The next song “Rmb” still keeps the laidback and chilled vibe going while his flow becomes more uptempo and enterprising.
“Hatchet” was extremely deep to me. It kind of highlighted the life story of lightweight literate and felt more like he was allowing us to read his personal life diary, connecting with his listeners, and separating himself from his artistry and demonstrated the person whose behind the image. He strips away the layers of the whole “Rap Star” and you can become a little bit more understanding on his character and drive for success. It was enchantingly dope and if you weren’t a fan then, you become a fan by now. The next song “All The Way” keeps the momentum of his diversity with an old school boombox beat. The song reminded me of a time period where hip-hop was first born. While listening to this single i begin to realize that lightweight literate is an artist who can appeal to a variety of listeners, and become a digestible artist to any scene of rap lovers. Rap music seems to have became sub categorized and lightweight literate does a little bit of everything with each song in “WhiteWillSmith”.
The final and closing song of the tape, “Brother” was an interesting song to me. Just like “Hatchet” it seems like there was an underlying message underneath the single and serves a personable purpose to the artist. Lightweight literate undergoes many different styles throughout the mixtape from his bold rap mannerism, intellectual lyrics, and melodic vocals. He fuses together every element he showcased in one closing song to the diverse and transcending mixtape that showed us why he’s the next rising artist on the rise. Not a rapper, not a singer, but a creator of an art form that we all share a love for.
Listen to the album here and get to know Lightweight Literate in our interview below!
Connect with Lightweight Literate on social media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lightweightl
Instagram: www.www.instagram.com/lightweight