10 songs in just over 15 minutes is a pretty substantial statement about the way that Kota The Friend approaches making hip hop. The tracks on Lyrics to Go, Vol. 2 aren’t there to hold you up. In fact, the short track lengths make it feel like it shouldn’t even be listened to in its entirety, but rather in the middle of playlists or segmented throughout your daily commute. While that may not have been the original intention, it’s clear that the attention span of humans and the volume of music on streaming services have pushed the runtime of releases shorter and shorter.
Time limits aside, Kota The Friend packs as much substance as he can into those 10 songs. Lo-fi beats mix well with a laid-back, confident delivery full of lyricism. Kota’s vocal demeanor makes you feel like he could rap for days on end. The sequencing meshes each track well within the context of a full project, keeping it sonically cohesive. With music being made readily available en masse, earning a replay from hip hop listeners is hard to do. However, Lyrics To Go, Vol. 2 is entirely palatable, and the tracks leave you wanting more from Kota before things come to an end. Hopefully Vol. 3 isn’t far behind.
