Opinion Review

Lex LaFoy: Honey Bass

A newly-emerging stalwart in the local hip hop scene, Lex Lafoy has just dropped her brand new album “Honey Bass” – a term coined by herself to describe the particular style of feminine bass and hip hop music her sound encompasses. Steeped in trap and EDM influences, it’s a powerfully female album, navigating both personal independence and general freedom alike.

The project kicks off on the eagerly building electro progression of ‘Flex’. Featuring iFani, lyrics slip from from isiXhosa rap lines to their English counterparts. Warped and distorted baselines reign supreme as she spits, “Do you know what I do after lunchtime / I hang rappers to dry on my punchline.” For the most part the album is thematically centered around her ambitious navigation of this world, as she encompasses an unashamedly sexy, sultry vibe while passionately advocating self-consciousness and individuality.

The title track is awash in electro distortions, heavy and frenzied, paired with high tone vocals, while ‘Queenbird’ allows rare moments of African-eqsue influences to permeate through, in the ode to fellow South African female hip hop artists.

A languid, synth-driven pace is set for ‘Nickleode’ and ‘Vuk Ekseni’. ‘S.M.Y.N.’, featuring RubyGold is packs a punch with a stuttered, rapid fire opening, a staccato baseline backing her fast-paced vocals: “Show me your number and I’ll show you what it is / I generate my own money, run my own biz.”. Silky vocals from RubyGold slip into play part way through, while prevailing male vocals add an alternate element in the reverb-soaked remix of ‘From The Head’.

Tying the album up are both the original version of ‘Tracers’ and its WesMyMeds remix. Featuring RubyGold and Fiesta Black, a deep stuttering baseline backs a strangely jazzy undertone to the sultry track. The remix, on the other hand, takes on a vaguely techno feel – gravitating the sound towards EDM with smoothly rolling builds and drops, against the off-kilter hip-hop and trap tendencies of the original. This is an offering awash in blatant attitude and feminist prose, dressed in a sexy, honey-soaked outfit.

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