The critically-acclaimed Charlotte-based rapper Mavi has released a new single “Doves”, produced by Dylvinci with a Lonewolf-directed visual. This release is the follow-up single to the announcement of his long-awaited sophomore album Laughing So Hard It Hurts (Out 10/14) and “Baking Soda”, a track noted by Pitchfork for its “cryptic meditations against crackly drums and a warm soul loop.” The lead-up to this release has been highly-anticipated following a stunning 2019 debut album Let The Sun Talk, a welcomed follow-up EP End of The Earth, and last year, being hand-selected by Jack Harlow, whose resounding admiration was made obvious with a shoutout on his latest album, to accompany him on tour. The new single, “Doves” is a down-tempo, silky smooth song that interweaves Mavi’s lullaby-soft wordplay and flexible bar-work with springy synths, an ethereal composition, and radiant sample chops courtesy of producer Dylvinci, the conductor pulling the strings behind the “plugg” sub-genre. In line with the thematic nature of Laughing So Hard It Hurts, the melodic track revolves around Mavi sparring with his psyche and exploring his detachments, displayed in the opening lines: “Every turn of the page just another issue/Good days a double-edged blade Ginsu/I can’t count a frame where I didn’t miss you”. The visual for the track, directed by Lonewolf (Zac Matias) is akin to that of a full-blown motion picture, with Mavi starring as the stoic lead. In the video, Mavi boasts his tuneful raps around a brightly-tinted home brought to life by a curious dog, a mirage of well-placed trophies, and a younger version of himself scurrying around and representing the notion of reflection and bittersweet nostalgia.
Mavi is hitting the road the latter half of this year for the High Holidays 3-date West Coast tour in December alongside an impressive cast: Curren$y, The Pharcyde, Buddy & Phony Ppl. He will also be joining famed producer Kenny Beats for his DON’T OVER THINK SHIT show with Rico Nasty and Paris Texas in Los Angeles on 11/5.
Sonically, Mavi aimed to have Laughing So Hard It Hurts sound almost like a “lullaby”, bringing producers like Dylvinci and Monte Booker to provide a softer and more affectionate touch to his work than in his previous efforts. Rather than wrap up his pen solely in potent critiques of the crumbling society surrounding us, Mavi decided to go another route and make this project predominately about his own existence––a task that invited him out of his creative comfort zone. 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.
© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
