This is the 3rd full length studio LP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never & more recently The Color Chocolate. Almost 9 months to the day, The Lotus Child has finally arrived.
“Shadow Puppet” is a soulful, jazzy self-produced opener talking about being unable to appreciate the sun until being in the shadows whereas “Black Girl” featuring Rapsody takes the boom bap route instrumentally allowing them to uplift African American women as a whole. “Sister Act” maintains a dusty edge to the beat teaching lessons from a student of the game just before “Guns & Roses” featuring 38 Spesh keeps the sampling in tact rubbing clean money into the faces of doubters.
Starting the other half, “Jodie Landon” comes through with an angelic boom bap vibe to the beat talking about the light guiding us all while “Wis Love” shifts into a cloudier direction paying tribute to her husband. “Choices” has to be one of the most passionate moments on the entire EP reflecting on the days where she was sleeping in cars feeling hopeless, but then Statik Selektah fuses gospel & boom bap on the closer “Angels” remembering her brother & cousin who were both murdered.
It was smart of Che waiting until the timing was optimum to deliver something focusing on her growth & artistry, which The Lotus Child very much achieves being 3 years in the making. Easily the most I’ve enjoyed something from her since Noir or Never. Her lyrical prowess, storytelling abilities & dexterity as a producer are all being fully realized as she raises the stakes & leaving some of the most essential cuts of her entire career along the way.
Score: 9/10
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