Another Link To The Chain: Lefty Gunplay
Another Link To The Chain is an ongoing series highlighting rising hip-hop artists extending the history of the genre into the future.
Representing: Baldwin Park, California, USA
For Fans Of: Mr. Criminal, Gunplay, G Herbo, Kodak Black, Shoreline Mafia, Sada Baby, Drakeo The Ruler
Before Kendrick decided to push the button and activate the West Coast in a tizzy unseen in nearly 30 years, California was already having a renaissance. 03 Greedo and Drakeo The Ruler unlocked a dark humor and experimentation in the stagnant West Coast gangster rap mode that had defined the area, even if its biggest stars were not of that style. Sure you had YG and Nipsey running up the charts earlier this decade, but Odd Future and TDE existed in multitudes that rap fans of a different era wouldn't believe. As potent as it was, the old 90’s West Coast gangster rap concept has all but died. In 2024 artsy weirdos can lead the charge just as effectively as the most street certified hitters. Yet the pendulum must swing back at some point, and Lefty Gunplay is rushing full steam into tropes of old and new at once.
Tatted from feet to forehead stands Left Gunplay, the most talented in a line of Latino rappers looking to fill those shoes. The history of Mexican rap acts busting out the West Coast is minimal despite the region having one of the highest populations of immigrants from South of the border. Their presence is infused in daily life in Cali, but the region's rap scene hasn’t represented them in a large way. YG’s “Go Loko” and “Blacks & Browns” along with OhGeesy’s hitmaker tendencies have kept them in the peripherals of stardom, always seeming one unabashed representative away from unlocking a whole new scene. Representing Baldwin Park, Lefty at his big age is still a rookie. After being released from prison after nearly a decade for shooting up a house party, the last 18 months have been a high speed chase to make up for lost time. Lyrics of love, lust, street obligations and stacking worldly possessions are tied together with the slurring accent only an LA County Chicano could muster.
Rookie Of The Year, his debut project under OTR Records, is a shockingly polished affair. You’re caught off guard immediately with how detached every line feels from one another. The punch-ins at times disregard the pocket completely, and even when he’s on a steady streak his words will slur off meter. There’s no fear in his delivery, dashing in playful off-key singing on intro track “Free Chito Rana$” or machine gun bursts within a mid tempo joint like “Playin’ For Keeps”. How a beat is attacked is unpredictable but from every song you’ll see his true character reveal itself. “Blvd Babies” harkens back to the thunderous boom-clap of early-00’s Dr. Dre beats. “Aaron Donald” is named after the LA Rams Hall Of Famer-to-be and uses his jersey number as a play on his gun ownership. Aesthetically he’s a modern version of what gangsters present. Frivolous face tats and chains mixed with baggy clothes and endlessly twisted fingers. The highwater mark of his career to date is the addictive “Lost My Bestfriend”. Side-by-side with street hero RJmrLA comes reminiscence over friends lost in the field of violence that the city's gang culture has produced time and again. Classic Crip and Blood tales don’t litter his music, but Lefty’s issues still have gang affiliations attached.
Most people have come across Lefty not for his music, but clips from No Jumper (just watch the first 20 minutes you’ll see a handful) or The Bootleg Kev Podcast (flexing buying your grandma kitchen appliances with this many chains on is crazy talk) have made the music an afterthought to many. Even as a new fan it’s clear that the influence of drugs of some sort are prevalent in his life. With his eyes rolling back, words slurring, and jaw shifting about, Lefty comes off as a stone cold junkie at times. He’ll ask and answer questions to himself and go on long diatribes about what survival of jail and budding stardom looks like on the day to day. On top of his interview antics a harsh and comedic diss track aimed at his direction from Northern California rapper BAND$ is currently the biggest story in his career. The BAND$ beef rose to the top from an overall tension with a handful of Northern California rappers, all stemming from interviews and on record one liners aimed at Lefty. When he called each of the NorCal artists out on “Blue Print Freestyle”, BAND$ was the first to respond. “The Frank Story” samples The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song and drags Lefty’s name in the mud. Even more effective was the accompanying video featuring Band$ tormenting a Lefty impersonator across Baldwin Park. Learning of his existence is that same feeling of anxiety riddled excitement one gets from skydiving; no matter how much you tell yourself everything is going to work out, there’s always a million facts rushing pass your face reminding you of the peril.
Budding beef, substance issues, and a lackluster follow up record (the guest filled Famous Gangbanger) honestly is worrying. Without question the ceiling for Lefty is tremendous. Rehashing the classic LA gangster formula with a Latino edge could be the breaking point for a whole sub-genre that has been festering in California for decades. He’s nimble and crafty in his verse writing, effective with his hooks, while fully laying both out over an elite batch of beats. There’s heartfelt (and crudely horny) records to break up all the gun talk. Behind the music is only a semi-told story that fans will be ready to buy into. The man in the mirror his only real opponent. There’s been bad experiments in auto-tuned drenched singing that sound straight from 2008 when everyone was chasing T-Pain without a 10th of the studio know-how of T-Pain. Interstate beef is nothing to shrug off when it comes to Cali artists, as violence has come down on bigger artists for weaker digs. All eyes in the rap world are pointed towards the Golden State for the first time in a generation, each looking for new stars to fill the endless hunger for more content. Lefty can easily be slotted in next to rising stars like 310Babii, Zoe Osama, and Chito Rana$ if he can keep clean and focused long enough to reach their level.