Larry June’s ‘Who Coppin’ Is the Perfect Unc Soundtrack for the Summer

I don’t know if you’ve noticed it yet, but we’re kinda in the midst of an Unc Summer. I’m not saying that because I’m 34. But I’m also not not saying it. But you can kinda sense it in the air, you know? Most folks old enough to be dedicated Knicks fans are probably at least Unc age now, and the Knicks clearly just won the NBA championship. JAY-Z is old enough to be a grandpa, but he himself delivered an Unc paradise when he hosted three back-to-back-to-back Yankee Stadium shows last weekend. Any way you look at it, this summer’s been like a Sozin’s Comet for Uncs across America, and now Larry June’s popped out to supply us a soundtrack for it today. 

Titled Who Coppin, Larry’s latest is an exercise in relaxed West Coast cool, with its gleaming retro soundscapes and his own laconic baritone swirling into perfect cocktail for low-rider cruising music; theme songs for Organic OGs across the globe. For tracks like “Organically Slidin,” he floats over a swirling flute loop as he maps out a summer day’s logistics for playboy rap stars who will smoke up, but still make time to ingest the right vitamins and minerals before or slightly after sliding anywhere. “I parkеd the old school in front of Bob's (What you get?)/ bottle of watеr and some Red Vines/I was sold out before nine (What you rockin'?)/Fitted hat to the back, rockin' fives,” he raps over a beat that sounds like a droptop ride down Crenshaw. 

Unlike last year’s 2 Chainz and Alchemist collab album, Life Is Beautiful, Who Coppin operates in immediate West Coast funk rather than Alc’s pristine luxuriance. Checking in at 49 minutes, the LP includes production from Cardo,  Swizz Beatz, Jay Versace ,  and DJ Fresh, and it plays out a lot like a less drowsy “It Was a Good Day." It's got features from  with much of the tracks sounding like a trip to a family reunion barbecue. And yet there’s traces of menace. “Don't hit my phone with the mainey, I squeeze/If a n—a reach for this chain, I'm just coolin'/Street n—a, I don't want fame, I be bikin'/But even then, I still got flame,” he spits on “The Machinist,” a standout from the project. Best to let him just ride his bike, bro. 

As per usual, Larry generally keeps things in first gear, even as he shifts between G-Funk swagger (“Win or Lose” with B-Legit) or loverboy tenderness (“Pretty Green Eyes” with Musiq Soulchild and Jay Versace). It’s skillful, but also, a little more stylish than skillful. But That’s always been the point with Larry June, who coaches young players with the expertise and self-assured wisdom of a baller who’s been a star but would prefer to kick back drinking some carrot juice, getting some jokes off, and contemplating just who he can build with and when he can do it. But other than that? Keeping it G is enough for Larry, who serves up anthems for himself and all the other cool-a— Uncs who live the same way. 

Check out Who Coppin for yourself below. Embrace your inner Unc.