Virgo World

Much has been made of the way Long Island MC and “Ransom” singer Lil Tecca’s personal aesthetic differs from that of your average rap star, but if Tecca’s sophomore project *Virgo World* is to be believed, the MC is still getting used to the role. The album is of course steeped in the endless melody and New York lingo Tecca delivered on *We Love You Tecca*—listen closely for references to “sneaky links,” judgments about who is and is not “sanctioned,” and the always rhetorical “How that work?” But the 18-year-old MC is also forthright about just how much his life has changed since “Ransom.” “I don’t know what’s going on/I’m getting to the racks now that n\*\*\*a call me ‘bro,’” he sings on album opener “Our Time.” On “Actin Up,” he celebrates being able to afford designer clothes, and on “When You Down,” he admonishes women who have changed their tune, singing, “Girl, you didn’t f\*\*k with me then/So why you f\*\*king with me now?” There’s plenty of joy here, as can be heard on lead single “Royal Rumble” and the Skrillex- and DJ Scheme-produced “Selection,” but above all else there is authenticity, Tecca reminding us on “No Answers”: “I’ma always be myself and we gon’ count up these checks.”

On the 18-year-old New York rapper’s debut album, a pocketful of catchy melodies and bubbly rhythms don’t make up for a lack of anything interesting to say.

Queens rapper Lil Tecca broke through to mainstream stardom with his 2019 single "Ransom," a two-minute song so catchy it nearly demanded repeat listens.