Lando Chill is an artist originally from Chicago, but they were based in Tucson when they broke through with a three album run on Mello Music Group made in collaboration with producer The Lasso. After releasing their brilliant album, Black Ego, in 2018, Chill and Lasso both left Arizona. The Lasso headed back home to Michigan, while Chill moved on to Los Angeles. It took a minute before we heard from Lasso again, but then we got if im being honest, produced by Calvin Valentine, in January of 2022. Now they are back with a new EP, The Common Denominator is Us.

To make The Common Denominator is Us, Lando Chill worked with producer Teddy Roxpin, best known for his work with Mac Miller. One of the things that first hit me in listening to this EP was just how West Coast it sounded, with it’s laid back swagger, booming bass, and crisp drums. What really makes this EP work, however, is the way in which Roxpin and Chill are able to navigate and harness all of Chill’s influences, from gospel to R&B to hip hop to pop music, along with the way that Chill naturally flows between singing and rapping. Chill has always had an ear for hooks, but when paired with Roxpin’s production, there are some real earworms that also hit hard and feel climatic when you get to them for the first time in each song. On top of being a dynamic performer with these hooks, what really elevates Chill’s music to the special, rarefied air is the thoughtfulness and honesty and vulnerability when it comes to the lyricism in each project. It doesn’t always have to come through in sad moments, either. In fact, what makes the music so compelling on Common Denominator is the way in which Chill rallies from the pain of feeling marginalized or going through moments of difficult losses and learns from those moments and finds strength. It’s at these moments when the music really becomes powerful, where the immediacy and fun of the pop music combines with the power of the personal message and takes you to another plane. This is what makes Lando Chill such a special artist.

The Common Denominator is Us is a step in a new direction for Lando Chill. It doesn’t sound like any of Chill’s previous projects, namely because Teddy Roxpin brings a different style of production to the table that pushes Chill to try different deliveries and so forth. More than anything, though, Chill sounds confident and bold enough to try these different approaches to the mic, while still staying true to their own lived experience, making for a project that you can really forge a personal connection to. There are only six songs on the project, but they are so rich and fun to listen to, you can listen to it over and over and not get tired of it.