Amongst the explosion of album releases over the last week or so, one that has been undoubtedly overlooked and underappreciated is that of LA producer and lyricist, Hit-Boy. The long-time curator of the Southern California auditory aesthetic has put together his debut solo album, Tony Fontana.
It’s really Hit-Boy’s first release from a purely individual perspective, but, true to the form of a respected producer, the project is teeming with renowned and quality features. Performances from Rich The Kid, 24hrs, 03 Greedo, Yung Pinch, and long-time friend and collaborator Dom Kennedy, pull the project into its final sense of cohesive and creatively-endowed West Coast traditionalism with the modern edge only achievable by a pliable mind akin to Hit-Boy’s.
The project has a particularly interesting ebb and flow between the expectedly hard-hitting lyricism and classic stylistic drive that we’ve come to expect, and a more bouncy, light-hearted approach undoubtedly influenced by several of the young guns at his disposal during the album’s featuring tracks.
The same sort of ebb and flow exists not only lyrically and in terms of vocal delivery of the feature artists but is also starkly apparent in Hit-Boy’s production. Vibrant West Coasts synth strokes dot the sonic landscape of Tony Fontana, but a noticeable series of experimental and progressive decision-making draw a balanced and especially appreciated sense of retro-futurism in its wake.