Mavi has been on a crazy hot streak this year. The North Carolina-native has come off his household EP End of The Earth with strong co-signs from the likes of Jack Harlow leading up to his most highly anticipated release yet, Laughing So Hard It Hurts.
Sonically, the album almost sounds like a “lullaby” providing a more affectionate touch to his work than in his previous efforts. The influences that are wrapped up in Laughing So Hard It Hurts track the day-to-day apparatus of Mavi’s life––from studying the hard-hitting raps of Babyface Ray to admiring the soundtrack of the animated cult-classic show Adventure Time, the 16-track album seems to offer a holistic view of his life to date.
The album is a warm, welcomed exploration of Mavi‘s triumphs and pitfalls over jazzy instrumentals, extraterrestrial compositions, and a poised creative vision. The thematic undertones of the album find all roads leading back to Mavi himself––with the pointed and poignant bar-work encompassing his own existence, relationships with loved and lost ones, and balancing ambitions and expectations for his future. The intro “High John” kicks off the album with some of Mavi‘s most prolific introspections yet over a gliding electric guitar and a subtle piano, with the opening lyric “Praying they still make love in my size” encompassing the duality of tenderness and distress sprinkled throughout Laughing So Hard It Hurts.
The summery visual for the track finds Mavi enthusiastically performing the track in a pristine field alongside famed producer and long-time supporter Alchemist & close friend and collaborator MESSIAH!, as well as manning a one-person rowboat and navigating through boundless nature. On “My Good Ghosts”, the Charlotte MC spits quick-witted, lover-boy raps accompanied by an instrumental courtesy of Coffee Black wrapped in a celestial sample chop and soulful vocal tones. With topics surrounding the lightest and darkest moments of his life, the love and support of his tight-knit community, and the prospect of possibly being a family man in the future, Laughing So Hard It Hurts are the rhythmic contemplations of an MC wise beyond his years, trying to make sense of the complex path laid before him.
Laughing So Hard It Hurts is beautiful and emotionally provoking. If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, I encourage you to do so here. You can also find the summery visual for “High John” below. Check it out.
