Swervo

The cover art of G Herbo’s *Swervo*, which features the Chicago MC and the album’s lone producer, Southside, clad in custom-made print jackets and seated atop a luxury vehicle, is a riff on the artwork for Eric B. & Rakim’s 1988 album, *Follow the Leader*. It’s a fitting projection: On the long-teased *Swervo*, the pair sound like longtime running mates, Atlanta trap’s most celebrated beatsmith providing abundant low-end for Herbo’s gravelly and verbose couplets. The pair even trade bars with each other on “Pac n Dre,” likening themselves to that other very legendary duo.

The Chicago rapper’s latest project as his alter-ego named Swervo is all velocity. He delivers some of his starkest verses like a steamroller, almost completely desensitized.