Kari Faux is an artist from Little Rock who has been releasing music for about ten years now. While she had some tastes of success here and there, it was really her 2021 album, Lowkey Superstar Deluxe, that saw her finally break through and get the attention that she deserved. Now she’s back to follow that up with a new full-length, Real Bitches Don’t Die!

One of the main themes of Real Bitches Don’t Die! is how we deal with loss. Going into this album, Faux had lost friend and musician Chynna Rogers, and then lost a cousin the following year. Then, with some bitter timing, Gangsta Boo contributed to the track “White Caprice” before being taken from us at the beginning of this year. As it often happens in life, though, Faux also found some changes for the better, relocating to Houston and finding a musical and romantic partner in Chicago producer Phoelix. Together, they are able to find a sound for this album that allows for a lot of intimacy as Faux works through some of the trauma of her last couple of years, but also delivers some of that Southern hip hop edge at the same time as Faux reminds everyone that she’s still here and still has a lot more to do and say. It’s an album that is incredibly soulful and honest, and Faux does a great job of allowing this vulnerability on the mic while also commanding your attention. She’s incredibly charismatic when she gets the energy amped up, but she’s also compelling as a poetic lyricist when she goes for these tender moments talking about loss, setbacks, and drawing on the strength of friends and family and music to help you through. Even though Phoelix is from Chicago, he clearly absorbed a lot of his surroundings spending time in the South with Faux, drawing upon production techniques from the likes of Organized Noize to UGK, and then adding in his own psychedelic flair to make it his own. When you put all of this together, you get a really complete listening experience over the course of the album, taking you through these emotional highs and lows, letting you into Faux’s world, and then giving you a push to find your own strength as well.

Real Bitches Don’t Die! is a fantastic next step from Kari Faux. She took one major step with her last album, and then took another one here with her latest. It’s a complex, multi-faceted album with strong Southern roots and a lot of smart and emotional lyricism that let you get to know Faux on a deeper level. It’s one that is easy to form a personal relationship with and just keep returning to whenever you need that hip hop to get you through the tough times.