Englewood-raised rapper Spenzo had planned to release his follow-up to 2013’s In Spenzo We Trust last spring, but 2014 came to a close with no new mixtape. Delays happen, and the process of tweaking and finessing a mixtape—especially one that resembles a studio album more than the traditional rough-around-the-edges (and, increasingly, old school) idea of a mixtape—doesn’t lend itself to a strict schedule. But during the past few months the MC’s been dropping tracks with enough regularity to suggest that his forthcoming Ahead Of My Time mixtape will come out soon. And Spenzo’s newest song, a collaboration with King Louie called “Effortlessly,” indicates that the preceding months were well spent.
Spenzo plays the straight man to Louie, who shows his wild streak with his gruff, fast-paced, and acerbic performance. Spenzo’s rapping, by contrast, is assured and sparse, and he delivers lines steadily and fluidly. The interplay between him and Louie works well with the instrumental, which weds a luxurious trumpet melody to a hard, skipping percussion pattern that’s reminiscent of Nicki Minaj’s “Chi-Raq.” “Effortlessly” is the kind of track that can only be made from years of honing your craft, but Louie and Spenzo make it sound easy.
