Vibe Music Collective emcee Cavalier is originally from Brooklyn, but moved to New Orleans with producer and close friend Iman Omari a few years ago. It has also been three years since we got an official release from him, when he released his Lemonade EP. Now he’s back with his full length album, Private Stock.

Much like a lot of his previous work, Cavalier once again works with Iman Omari, which means you’re getting exactly what you’d expect from the two of them. That’s not a bad thing, since they’ve made some great, laidback, experimental hip hop in the past, and that’s exactly what they’re doing here. Sometimes it can seem fun and harmless, as Cav rhymes about weed and making music, but there are definitely some heavy moments on the album as well. “Open Season” opens with a quote from Representative Hank Johnson from Georgia declaring that it was open season on Black men in America in reference to police brutality. Cav picks up the mic from there and does a great job discussing the issue both as a systematic problem and a personal one. We get a couple of guest spots along the way, including Billzegypt, Moruf, Blvck Spvde, and Quelle Chris, but my personal favorite comes at the end when Georgia Anne Muldrow hops on “State of Mind,” where her beautiful singing voice and lyrics about spirituality perfectly complement Cav. This makes sense when you think about it, since Muldrow’s partner and long time collaborator is Declaime, who has a very similar flow and presence on the mic to Cav – they both occupy this space as pot smoking observers and story tellers.

Private Stock is a continuation of a winning formula from Cavalier and Iman Omari. Omari cooks up some spaced out, downtempo beats, and Cav works his way through some smart observations, personal tales, and other thoughts about life and spirituality. It’s the type of album that gets better with each listen, as you catch all of these subtleties and connect to Cav’s lyrics on a personal level.