YaH-Ra is an artist from Los Angeles who has been releasing music for about the last five years. Her last project dropped in February, when she gave us an EP called THE QUEENs GAMBIT. Since then, there have been a couple of singles, but now we get her first full-length album, CALiFORNiCATION: WESTSiDE TALES.

For this album, YaH-Ra is working with such producers as Junior Beats, Bruthaz For Life, Iman Omari, Calvin Valentine, iZZNYCE, Nolan, DaeOne, GOLDDIGGA, DirtyDiggs, Polyester the Saint, and Jake PST, as well as co-producing a few tracks herself. Together, they are giving you beats that range from laid back boom bap to electro to R&B to neo-soul, all while sounding distinctly West Coast. And that’s the thing about this project – YaH-Ra is from Los Angeles, and she’s writing what she knows, which is Southern California, and so it is only natual that the album sounds like it as well. There’s nothing wrong with that when it’s done well, and YaH-Ra has put herself in position to do it well. She’s clearly worked hard over the years to become a skilled emcee and vocalist, and she’s seeking out other artists who aren’t just dope, but also fit well with her sound and can help her reach that next level. Now, YaH-Ra doesn’t have the biggest voice when she’s rapping or singing, but she does both with enough confidence as to command your attention, so you end up leaning into the album to catch the nuances that are going down. There are some minor bumps here and there, the biggest being a clumsy intro track that doesn’t really come together in a satisfying way, but it’s all part of the learning curve and doesn’t take away too much from the overall enjoyment of the album.

YaH-Ra is a talented artist, and she’s only going to continue to grow and get better. CALiFORNiCATION: WESTSiDE TALES isn’t perfect, but it is a strong debut album that lays a solid foundation as she moves forward with her career.