volume 140 - with a little L

a fresh start

memes of the week 🤠

what did otters do when he created them?

this is how i’ll feel at my new job

LMAO

me to my therapist

---

happy Tuesday y’all :)

after close to 10 months of unemployment (but who’s counting??), i got a job!

grateful to have my people support me through this journey and to share my experiences with y’all through Run It Back

(i was getting a little too good at FIFA and watching wayyy too much YouTube lmao)

so today’s volume is all about fresh starts! in that vein, these artists have reinvented themselves over time and/or personally inspire me to try new things

i’ll be honest, i am a little nervous to start. but this mantra grounds me:

don’t let missing a shot prevent you from taking a shot

i’ll be off next Tuesday as that’s the first week of my job but i’ll be back the week after with some fresh memes and music 🙏

and with that, let's get to the music for the week ❤️‍🔥

- claudio / claud / @offballscreen

i can always count on Dax and Darian for their art direction

this week’s music ⤵️

1. Sausalito
   Larry June
   Released: 2018

i first came on to Larry’s current sound during freshman year of the pandemic. i asked Paolo (of Idle Worship) what he listened to while biking around the city and he put me (back) onto Larry June. i said “the yee hee guy?”

yup

he went from “YEEEEE HEEEEE GLOCK 40 WITH THE BEAM” (which we used in my favorite Village Resting promo 😌):

to a more lowkey sound using smooth ass samples. i mean this project is called Very Peaceful lmao. he talks about it in the song:

They say June, fuck that trap
We want that playa shit
Man, I need some shit that I can mack to
That playa shit

this was also at the time where he starting doing local photoshoots around SF for his album covers:

these go so hard

there’s room for both styles to coexist but damn i do love Larry’s transition

2. Family Don’t Matter Feat. Millie Go Lightly
   Yung Thug
   Released: 2017

back in 2017 i knew Thug was dropping a new project and i was expecting the same trap that i was familiar with. then i heard the opening track to Beautiful Thugger Girls (from the third verse):

Country Billy made a couple milli'
Tryna park the Rolls Royce inside the Piccadilly
Oh, he had a couple stripes actually (Of course)
Got another half a milli' in white tees, of course (Don't you panic)

i was like what?? country trap rap? haw yee gonna do that?

then i went to yee haw real quick:

y’all not ready for Cowboy Claud™️

i leaned in! i love how he disrupted stereotypes: country music doesn’t exist in a vacuum

i also love how the old-time country fans were so mad with their big “well that’s the way we’ve always done it” energy:

*allegedly* this is what the opposition to country trap looked like

he’s come a long way since his first big single in 2014 🥲

3. Freelance
   Toro y Moi
   Released: 2019

when this song first came out i was so annoyed. i was like what the duck did he just drop. i’m rocking with you through all your phases Chaz, but this? really?

the hook sounds like a song for babies!

Oh, walk on the water-er-er-er-er-er-er-er-er-er-er-er
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, for me
Just for me baby, okay
Oh, there's always gon’ be pressure
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, okay
Pressure

i get it though. given the name of the song, it reinforces how he’s doing his own thing always

i love how unapologetically he reinvents himself and says “this is me now” and isn’t afraid to change his sound again after that

this song and album as a whole grew on me pretty quick after the dust settled. it especially helped that this is amazing live and it’s easy to sing along to (like a song for babies)

4. Little L
   Jamiroquai
   Released: 2001

Why does it have to be like this?
I can never tell
'Cause you make me love you, love you, baby
With a little L

and with any fresh start (along with a little L), here’s a reminder to:

😌