Posted by Release Date: 16 November, 2013
Running Time: 14 Tracks, 43:13
Platforms: YouTube, Apple Music, Datpiff, Spotify and Soundcloud
Essential Tracks: Mayor, 10 Cellphones, Art Show, Slang Work, Roll Up Roll Up
Flexican Mayor is the definition of an underground gem. One of the most futuristic tapes of this decade, ‘Flexican Mayor’ explores rhyme schemes, song structures and soundscapes that were seldom explored around the time of it’s release. Luckaleannn glides over the choppy, futuristic beats with his signature ease. The lazy rap style Leannn evocates throughout the project foreshadows the stylings of next generation stars such as: Playboi Carti and Warhol.ss. The 14 track tape contains no features which is a rarity in the modern rap game. Containing production from: Rvmsy, PurpDogg, TrillSpector, Curtis Heron, Mike Creeps, Samurai Mack and Luckaleannn himself. The beats diverge from synth-heavy chops to spaced out cloud bangers. ‘Flexican Mayor’ is a tape that birthed the swag of several rappers. It may fly under the radar, but this tape is an undisputed classic. Luckaleannn is easily one of the most innovative and underrated artists of this era. Log in with LO-FI: The Magazine as we delve into the underground gem that is ‘Flexican Mayor’:
Track 1: Mayor Intro
A rare public service announcement from the Flexican Mayor, Luckaleannn urges his listeners to ice down and activate soljuh mode. A SMACK DVD-esque skit, illustrates Luckaleannn’s effortless and infectious swag.
Quotable: “10 hoes on my mafukkin karate belt. I bought 5 freezers, already had 6, that make 11. That mean I gotta buy 19 more because im thuggin 30.”
Gem Rating: 4/5, Swag on a thousand.
Track 2: 10 Cellphones (Prod. Purp Dogg)
Exhibit A of Luckaleannn displaying the Carti, Uno and Fauni flow long before their careers started. Luckaleannn lackadaisically rides the Purp Dogg beat with his unique slang talk. If you know what 10 Cellphones means, you know he’s tapped in. From the outset of the tape Leannn shows us why he owns 11 freezers. He’s the iciest of all time. Did we mention theres a rapper named 10cellphones now? No shade but Leannn is really the forefather to this slang talk.
Quotable: “I got 10 Cellphones”
Gem Rating: 5/5, Birthed so much sauce in just over 2 min 30 secs. Who woulda thought.
Track 3: Mayor (Prod. Luckaleannn)
Gvcci Leannn flexes his producer muscle on ‘Mayor’. Arguably the hit single from the ‘Flexican Mayor’ 30 Round Leannn intertwines his unique flow with the booming waves of his production. The way his voice echoes and is layered throughout the track is reminiscent of how Max B layered his vocals. The two artists sounds are contrasting but I think the ‘Based Max B’ is a fitting moniker for Luckaleannn. As both artists truly brought their own wave to the game. If you haven’t heard Mayor yet, you are seriously lackin’. So go ahead step ya swag up, ice down and log in to Mayor.
Quotable: “6 Point Star ‘cause my Bitch is a crip, Gold ass guns make your bitch suck my dick, 007 Golden Gun with the shits.”
“Grab the rebound you can call me Dennis Rodman, Grab a bad bitch you can call it goin shoppin.”
“Swish Karl Malone, Ice wrist look Gucci”
“Ice game sick, wave game Kelly Slater”
Gem Rating: 5/5, He slid too crazy on this. Classic
Track 4: Drug Talk (Prod. Luckaleannn)
“Leannn why you thuggin”. Leannn channels some sort of psychedelic Waka Flocka/ Slim Dunkin at the start of this track. As we ice skate past the entrance Leannn reverts back to the freezer-like cool of his flow. His extremely unique production style is on display yet again, as his wavy loops crash with hi-hats, claps and booming 808s. Everything seems off time and off key. That’s just the icy charm of the Leannn experience. His waviness freezes the time continuum. Drug Talk is what the title suggests. An abrasive, off time, experimental banger. Luckaleannn’s ability to fuse the abrasive elements with his flow and one-of-a-kind quoatables is a testament to his talent as a recording artist.
Quotable: “Come shop with me, I can teach you how to rob. AK47 Skimask, do ya job.”
Gem Rating: 5/5 for me, but I’m bias. Being neutral its a 4/5 bust down VVS gem.
Track 5: Bankcode (Prod. Rvmsy)
Another track that proves Leannn had the juice long before your favorite rapper. The lick anthem. Stack up your Gucci chips and check off your Gucci list as you vibe out to this classic. The 8 bit stylings of the beat are no obstacle for the machismo of Gvcci Leannn. If Max B had the wave can we give Luckaleannn the blizzard? Bankcode is another ice down classic off the legendary ‘Flexican Mayor’ tape.
Quotable: “AK at yo head, what’s your bankcode. Playin’ both sides I don’t think so.”
Gem Rating: 5/5, Ice down
Track 6: Drug Break
A welcome interlude. Which segues listeners from the snowstorm into the blizzard. Flexican Mayor only gets icier from here. Ice Road Truckers steez. Ice Road Trappin’. I’m not gonna lie I used to keep this interlude on loop. It’s too relaxing you digg?
Quotable: N/A
Gem Rating: 4/5, As good as an interlude will ever get.
Track 7: Slang Work (Prod. Rvmsy)
The other bonafide smash hit from this tape. ‘Slang Work’ has amassed over 170k plays on SoundCloud. The Boost Mobile anthem, acts as a more toned down version of the other Rvmsy produced track ‘Bank Code’. It’s 30 for the work in case you didn’t know. Or 10 Gucci Chips. ‘Slang Work’ is the perfect example to display Luckaleannn’s icy cool flow. It can’t be stressed enough, he was doing this ad-hoc, improvised, lazy flow long before the future sensations were. Leannn is the source of the sauce. Flexican Mayor is a bit of an abrasive journey sonically, due to the plethora of producers used, but Leannn’s presence behind the mic ensures the sonic turbulence is froze up and eliminated.
Quotable: “Red Fuckin Dot like a Japan flag, couldn’t stop my waves with a sandbag.”
Gem Rating: 5/5, Another classic. Temperature below freezing.
Track 8: Art Show (Prod. Luckaleannn)
This track is nothing short of iconic. It should be played in every museum that ever existed. Leannn perfectly captures the imagery of a thugged out Art Show. Everyday is an Art Show when your Gvcci Leannn. ‘Art Show’ is a rare artefact in music history. The self produced track continues the off beat 8-bit stylings of prior tracks. Sonically, Flexican Mayor is kind of like the OST of a Sega Dreamcast game meshed with the bravado of 2010 Brick Squad tape. Hi-hats roll and 808’s break limit’s as the 8 bit melodies would be perfect for any of Sonic’s ring chasing journey’s (no Robert Horry). There’s not much to be said about ‘Art Show’ a part from the fact that it is an experience to behold. Leannn made the Art Show cool. The follow up with Yung Lean is well worth a listen as well.
Quotable: “Drink a 1000 cups then I flexercise.”
Gem Rating: 5/5, An outer body experience. Like cryotherapy.
Track 9: 10 Gold Bitches (Prod. TrillSpector)
This track goes crazy. A true banger. TrillSpector went in with this beat. ‘10 Gold Bitches’ is the type of track Smush Parker would play post-practise to release his anger after being constantly bullied by Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. The oriental melody and muddy 808s are ahead of their time in their own right. Salute TrillSpector. Leannn keeps the frozen flow up here as well. The one guarantee of Flexican Mayor is the effortless swag that Leannn exudes throughout the tape. If you don’t feel sauced up after hearing 30 Round rap throughout the tape, then we can’t relate. 10 Gold Bitches is a welcome departure from the frenzy of the prior tracks.
Quotable: “Cocaine wrist I got 10 Gold Bitches”
Gem Rating: 4/5, Beat goin to grazy (crazy)
Track 10: Ride (Prod. Curtis Heron)
A waved-out classic. Leannn switches the pace up with this slowed up hard-hitter. The beat hits harder than Derrick Brooks in his prime and floats lighter than fleet-of-foot Marshall Faulk juke. After listening to this song, and this tape for the 1000th time I have come to the conclusion that Leannn is definitely the Based Max B. His approach to recording and the way he glides over beats instead of attacking them is eerily reminiscent to the wavy don. ‘Ride’ is peak iciness. Like Articuno off of Pokemon Leaf Green. This track right here will have your system bumpin’ bumpin’.
Quotable: “Maybe in my spare time I could teach you how to ride”
Gem Rating: 5/5, Blizzard season commences
Track 11: Fake N*gggga (Prod. Samurai Mack)
If 10 Gold Bitches is the Smush Parker post-practise anthem then Fake N*gggga is the perfect track to listen to after you’ve heard Paul Pierce offer his analysis on ESPN. I’m already knowin’ this is Rachel Nicholls go to after an episode of ‘The Jump’. I also picture Charlie Villanueva bumping this after Kevin Garnett called him a cancer patient. Irregardless of the incessant basketball references, ‘Fake N*gggga’ is the song which best saved for your moments of anger. A rare departure of the blizzard-like cool for Leannn. He brings the turn-up heat on this joint. Samurai Mack lowkey spazzed with beat as well. Some Age of Empires type swag on here for real.
Quotable: “30 on my hip, that’s a full clip”
Gem Rating: 4/5, Rare moments on this track
Track 12: Roll Up Roll Up (Prod. Luckaleannn)
Roll Up Roll Up is a return to regularly scheduled programming. The effortless cool is back. Once again Leannn demonstrates just how far ahead of his time he was. It has been mentioned several times but it can’t be stressed enough. Leannn forever the most underrated. If you were to choose essential tracks to listen to from ‘Flexican Mayor’, ‘Roll Up Roll Up’ would be at the top of the list.
Quotable: “Bitch suck ma dick, cause the bitch is my caretaker”
Gem Rating: 5/5, Negative degrees (Celsius)
Track 13: European Trappin (Prod. Mike Creeps)
Re-elect him! For real, the Flexican Mayor is trapped out on another menacing soundscape. Leannn proves he been had the global vision with ‘European Trappin’. Gucci Lean brings another snowstorm to fruition with his spaced out flow. Gold AK, drug flipping, getting head and thuggin’ out. All just another day in the life of the Flexican Mayor.
Quotable: “Schoolboy Q, feel like I am Diddy.”
Gem Rating: 3.5/5, Another heavy-hitter
Track 14: Mayor Music/ Druggy Mode (Prod. Luckaleannn)
The Max B comparisons continue on the outro to ‘Flexican Mayor’ as he waves all over his production for 5 minutes. The only way to end such an exhilarating tape is in a druggy haze. The statements were made earlier in the tape with standout songs such as Mayor, Bankcode, Art Show and 10 Cellphones but Mayor Music keeps the everlasting cool of the tape alive. The swag overload of ‘Flexican Mayor’ ends with one last injection. The self-produced outro can best be characterised as wavy. This tape is a true journey through the antarctic. Deserving of at least 3 championship rings.
Quotable: “60 Hummers in the back”
Gem Rating: 4/5, The wave is still alive.
In closing, Flexican Mayor is far from the most polished body of work. But we don’t consume underground gems for polish or audio quality. We instead consume underground music to level up our swag and get on some futuristic shit. Even in 2019, Flexican Mayor is the injection of steez you need to close out your decade in style. This project by Luckaleannn illustrates just how ahead of his time he is. Released in 2013, this project could drop in 2021 and still sound better than any other contemporary tape. Luckaleannn’s sophomore effort, and his first project as a member of Goth Money is a bonafide classic. An essential listen for those trying to gauge the underground scene of 2013/14. ‘Flexican Mayor’ is a sonic frenzy which is all tied together by Luckaleannn’s effortless rhyme schemes. His distinct cadence and recording techniques are eerily reminiscent of Max B. You could argue that Luckaleannn is worthy of being crowned one of the kings of this new school wave. If Max B brough the wave, then Luckaleannn brought the blizzard. The flows used on this tape would later be utilised by new generation stars such as Fauni, Carti and Uno (amongst others). For this reason, and many others, Luckaleannn should be considered a forefather in the rap game. People are using his style without even knowing it. ‘Flexican Mayor’ cemented Luckaleannn as a legend in the game. Leannn as an artist and this project still remain heavily underrated. It is why ‘Flexican Mayor’ has been crowned the inaugural ‘Underground Gem’ by LO-FI: The Magazine.
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