St. Louis’ Smino is back at it again. After delivering an extremely solid LP in 2022, Luv 4 Rent, the rapper has slowed his release cadence greatly in the time since. However, without many singles or much of a rollout, the MC announced his return with his 4th full-length album. Now available in full, here are some of the Smino highlights you’ll find on Maybe In Nirvana.
Smino Closes Out Previous Album Era With Maybe In Nirvana
Any discussion of the record should begin with some background context. In interviews, Smino essentially acknowledged this project as an extension of the Luv 4 Rent era, with much of the material here taken from those same studio sessions. More granularly, the St. Louis rapper cited the project as “necessary” to move into what he plans to release next, closing the project on his last effort to make room for the next week. In this writer’s view, Maybe In Nirvana would have benefitted if this framing was put closer to the fore—especially with how big of a step forward Luv 4 Rent was, billing this as a “.5” version tailored more towards hardcore fans would’ve cast its material in a better light from the get-go.
All that said, Smino and Maybe In Nirvana aren’t without quality here. It’s hard not to hear the list of accomplishments he lays out on the chipper, ultra-catchy “Dear Fren” and not smile; Smino laying out how surreal it is to be on the stages he now frequents considering his beginnings, highlighted by taking his father to the Grammys.
The title track, “Maybe In Nirvana,” is easily the centerpiece here, and would have contended for best song on many of his previous records. It’s a perfect execution of the word association and bendy syllable play that now stand as hallmarks: “She wanna be mine, I told her gotta be mindful,” “Float like a butterfly, skrrt like a Beamer,” or “Before I lose my cool, baby lose your shoes.” It’s also some of the best production on the whole tracklist, with some punchy drums contrasting whistling melodies and chiptune pads underneath the hook.
Guest Appearances Help Round Out The Rapper’s Fourth
A criticism levied against the record in early reactions has been a “samey” quality to some of the production and songwriting, and with so much of the tracklist relying on toned-down trap fare, there are certainly moments where things blend together. The spree of guest appearances towards the close of the record is a sly way Smino combats that. Long-time collaborator Kenny Beats taps in for “Ready Set Goku,” Thundercat continues to be unmistakable on the three-way link-up “Hoe-nouns,” and fellow alt hip-hop star Ravyn Lenae crops up twice. However, for earnest devotees of the genre, “Ms. Joyce” is the best of that group, flipping the Southern anthem “Still Tippin'” and sliding in an always appointment appearance from Bun B.
That track honestly dovetails well into the biggest takeaway from Maybe In Nirvana. Though it may be closer to a mixtape in truth, serving up red meat for already inducted fans rather than converting new ones, Smino’s rolodex is only getting deeper and his skills remain just as sharp. Ideally, we won’t have to wait long for his true next step, but the material featured here should be plenty to tide us over in the meantime.
Stream Maybe In Nirvana and all of the Smino catalog now wherever you get your music.
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