California Poppy

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether Rexx Life Raj is a rapper or a singer, since he pulls both off with such apparent effortlessness. The distinction doesn’t matter, really: On the Berkeley native’s *California Poppy* EP, jazzy love songs coexist with thoughtful meditations on success, with beats that are as breezy and warm as Northern California sunshine. The highlight is Raj’s ultra-smooth update of E-40’s 1995 game-spitting classic “Sprinkle Me”—with a guest verse from the Bay Area godfather himself.