Monte Booker, Kal Banx Assemble Top Producer Talent for Smino’s “Luv 4 Rent”

A correctly executed concept album is an impressive feat of creative compilation. Rather than being a curated playlist of songs, the concept album paints a story for its audience. It adds another layer to the album as it drops you–the listener–into their world of storytelling and shifting frequencies. One way to drive the album’s motif home is through an accompanying experience.

This Friday, St. Louis rapper Smino is releasing his third studio album Luv 4 Rent–his first since signing with Motown Records in 2021. The production credits aren’t fully confirmed, but we know that longtime Zero Fatigue producer Monte Booker and Top Dawg Entertainment producer Kal Banx are contributing to the album. Groove and Childish Major will also be lending their services.

Last Wednesday, Smino tweeted a listening event announcement resembling a real estate flyer. The flyer led to a parody realty website where hopeful listeners selected between time slots.

Lucid Monday arrived at the house shown on the flyer, smack dab in the middle of a sleepy Glendale suburb. We approached the front lawn to see lines of people wearing Zero Fatigue hoodies wrapped around the property’s towering and manicured hedges. Staff, wearing baby blue shirts adorned with “Luv 4 Rent Moving Company” logos, unloaded boxes off the idling U-Haul. After we checked in, women dressed as leasing agents welcomed us into the house.

The first, possibly overlooked, detail was a brick–the same one shown in mid-October’s album trailer–sitting on a chair, partially covering a sheet of paper that says “Rent Due.” The agents led us through the lawn walkway, offered us cookies and lemonade, and showed us glimpses into Smino’s childhood. First, we saw a child posing as a younger Smino, wearing a Rams Jerome Bettis jersey in his bedroom. The meticulously made bed displays a wrinkle-free Cardinals blanket as he sits on the edge of the bed, two feet away from the television. Crooked posters of Battle Borgs, Barbershop, and Nelly’s Country Grammar drape the walls above him as the Boondocks play on loop.

We snake our way into the bathroom, illuminated by jade ceiling lights. Shiny streamers and goodie bags of TOPICALS skincare fill the bathtub.

We transition to another room, greeted by a wall of picture tube TVs. They ranged from Smino’s logo, clips of music videos and performances, and static, making it a popular spot for impromptu photos. The last stop of Smino’s house tour ends in the kitchen, where an Imo’s Pizza representative–a St. Louis establishment flown out by Smino–served attendees.

We descended the stairs to the back patio to see plastic tables and an open bar. On our right, we see two members of Smino’s family playing chess and people-watching. The patio spills out to the front lawn from which we came. Front-lawn guests donned blue button-up shirts and posed in front of a mirror, recreating the Luv 4 Rent album cover.

People swapped in and out of the property, but there were whispers of Smino appearing later in the evening. In the meantime, Country Boy Catering served soul food and another open bar. Hours passed with people sitting at picnic tables playing Connect Four and Jenga, purveying the merch table–a Zero Fatigue x Carrots by Anwar Carrots shirt, an orange Zero Fatigue hoodie, and a Luv 4 Rent t-shirt, and smoking and/or drinking.

Beyond the hedges, we eventually saw a black SUV pull up. A figure with monstrously-sized hair steps out from the backseat. Hands started to crawl towards their right side pockets, pulling out their phones. Everyone knew. Everyone waited (mostly because his stylist fixed his hair for a couple of minutes) as Smino made his entrance.

Smino did a quick walkthrough of the house and ended up on the lawn’s dance floor, where his DJ, Nosidam, had set up and played songs all afternoon. He sat on a green stool–coordinating with his green leather pants–while everyone settled into their viewing spots and got their initial videos out. He stood up, checked in with the audience, and gave us a little album background. The album played from beginning to end, with no pauses. Smino remained perched on his stool, sunglasses on, and occasionally rapped along to the verses.

On first listen, it’s apparent the album contains elements of gospel, prominently featuring church drums and vocal harmonies one hears in the pews. Luv 4 Rent commenced with an interlude, muffled vocals provided courtesy of his younger cousin. “No L’s” bursts through as Luv 4 Rent’s first full song, using Monica’s “Knock Knock” as its instrumental bedrock.

This album came across as Smino’s most personal and introspective. The fun, bouncy St. Louis musician is still very much there, but most instrumentals possess heavy overtones of nostalgia and longing for more out of life. The beats conjure up feelings of delirium-laced lullabies, like those dreamlike sequences in video games or Saturday morning cartoons. It ties together with the house tour, which symbolizes and somewhat resembles his childhood home.

The mellow, sometimes even broodier songs are intertwined with a humorous skit or two and animated features from Doechii, Fatman Scoop, and Lil Uzi Vert.

The last song rode out with Smino rising from the stool to interact with the crowd. For the last time, phones elevate while Smino rapped along to “Lee & Lovie.” Though he never took off his glasses, he looked more relieved than excited. He asked how the audience liked the album, thanked the crowd for coming, and sent us on our way.

As we left the valley, the music’s disposition finally sat with us on the ride home. The experience made us look at our life from the top of the hill and see how far we’ve climbed. We see the good and the bad, with all its rose-colored glasses and the ashes of those we’ve lost (peep passed friend Teddy Ray’s voice on Garden Lady). There’s no way to forget that because it's made us who we are, but we still have to trek on. On Luv 4 Rent, Smino reminisces and recollects, but he also turns around and overlooks what has yet to come.

Two weeks ago, Smino listed his favorite line from the album during an interview on the Cruz Show: “Give so much of myself to others, I’m running out of self for my own shit.” He’s at a point where he’d seen what life has to offer, and with that comes reflection. In this 15-track LP, he still has more to offer and process, considering he’s already working on (or maybe even completed) part two of the Luv 4 Rent series.

Luv 4 Rent will only age better as time passes. Its lyrics evoke an emotional connection because everyone has a somber relationship with nostalgia, its production is timeless, and it places Smino–and his ensemble–firmly in a pocket of their own.

Follow Monte Booker

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Spotify

Follow Kal Banx

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Spotify

Photos courtesy of Big.Ass.Kids (@big.ass.kids)