Los Angeles artist Rhys Langston has released a plethora of interesting smaller projects over the last five years, along with the big statement in 2017 when he released the album Aggressively Ethnically Ambiguous. Just this past year, we got a couple of EPs, Master Fader on Speed Dial and the T.C. Walsh Suite. Now he comes back with an ambitious full-length album, Language Arts Unit.

Few things are more exciting than watching an artist you know is dope realize their full potential. Rhys Langston had been knocking on the door the past couple of years, but with Language Arts Unit, it’s safe to say he’s reached the next level. Langston has described the album as “a rap textbook of textbook raps coloring outside the lines,” and to drive that point home, he’s also released a 100-page companion book to go with it. Together, they form this really dense and purposeful project that is there to simultaneously let Langston express some personal feelings about race and ethnic identity, politics, technology, Los Angeles, and hip hop, just to name a few, but to also challenge you as a listener on several levels. There is the immediate confrontation of the subject matter I just listed, but there is also a confrontation of form and words, the way in which ideas are presented, and how you unpack all of the layers to the project. Musically, Langston is providing the majority of the beats, with assists from alexanderrrowland, kató, and LXMONGRAB on a couple of tracks. Together, they find this sweet spot that balances between this laidback soulful vibe and some paranoid and eerie synth-based production, which in a way relates Los Angeles in a nutshell. On top of all of this, Langston has never come with so many different flows to match the dense lyricism of the album, but he also finds room for choruses that will really drive some main ideas home with listeners. He also gets some help on the mic along the way, with Chester Watson, Aissa and Moziah, and Serengeti all blessing the project with some unique perspective and flavor that just makes this project that much more special.

The year is still young, but Rhys Langston has raised the bar for everybody in 2020. He has been putting in the work over the past five years or so, and he really pushed himself to create something special with Language Arts Unit. It’s simultaneously intellectually challenging and just plain fun to listen to, and that’s not small feat.