Albums

Lute Delivers Dreamville Debut, ‘West 1996 Part 2’

blame it on Meka September 28, 2017

“Crazy how time flies… five years later and we here, I didn’t have it all figured out just a little bit of faith and a story to tell…”

The DopeHouse was first introduced to Lute, a North Carolina emcee who—when not hilariously ranting on Twitter about his horrible experiences working at Wal-Mart—had a knack for dropping quality and relatable rhymes that are backed by dusty, boom bap-inspired sonics, with his debut mixtape West1996 back in 2012.

Three years later, the rapper signed to J. Cole‘s Dreamville imprint, making his first appearance with the label on the Revenge Of The Dreamers II compilation.

While he’s remained relatively quiet since his formal introduction on “Still Slummin’,” he toured with J. Cole as well as fellow Dreamville artists Ari Lennox and J.I.D., all the while working on the long-awaited follow-up to West1996.

After releasing a pair of warm-ups, “Juggin’” and “Premonition” with EarthGang, Lute has officially returned with West1996 Part 2. An eleven-track effort, the album is still rooted in its contemporary throwback sound, with soulful production from Cam O’bi, Elite, Shiggy and Save Allen. Elevator Jay, GQ Slaughter and Lute’s former Forever FC partner High I’m Ry make guest features.

Stream West 1996 Part 2 below and be sure to add the album to your preferred streaming platform.