DJ Mustard has the hits to rightfully claim ratchet music's crown, but Richmond rapper/producer Iamsu! has equally pushed the minimalist Cali sound to the masses. A founding member of Bay Area collective Heartbreak Gang, he produced Loverance's “Up!” and contributed to Sage the Gemini’s viral-turned-Top 40 hit “Gas Pedal”. His nasal smooth-talking has factored in West Coast rap’s return to the mainstream, and his debut LP, Sincerely Yours, is Su’s opportunity to move forward through the doors he's already opened.
Sincerely Yours picks up where Su’s Kilt mixtape series left off, with the young Bay Area rapper looking for a deeper niche beyond weekend party-soundtracking tracks. The album opens wistfully, with Su quoting Pimp C's verse on Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin’”, but his interpolation of “Everybody wanna ball, holla at broads at the mall” is bashful, a deviation from Pimp C's snarl. Later, on “Girls”, he waxes on taking his dream girl on dates that involve smoking weed and hanging out with his parents. Su’s everyman persona situates afield of Los Angeles’ gangster revivalist YG, as his music possesses an insular quality that places him outside of rap's larger-than-life personas.
Iamsu!'s numerous guest verses typically find him ready to turn up at any function, but Sincerely Yours finds him turning down at every opportunity. “Only That Real”, produced by HBK member P-Lo, could fit on any ratchet mix from the last few years with its moody synths and vicious stomp, but appearances by a bored-sounding 2 Chainz and Sage the Gemini dull this potential hit. Though Su has appeared and produced some big crossover singles, Sincerely Yours is a bit too blunted, as a majority of the album floats in its own haze. “What You ‘Bout" offers a nice slap to the record's drowsy consciousness, momentum that the album could use more of.
As a whole, Sincerely Yours maintains a tepid pace; the record's more thrilling moments are undercut by perfunctory rapping and weak track sequencing. After an unnecessary interlude, there's a string of energetic posse cuts that feature HBK members Kool John and Skipper (“Back on Your Mind”) and Bay Area legends Too $hort and E-40 (“T.W.D.Y.”), but on an album that often gets too comfortable in its own relaxed mood, Sincerely Yours could use more rappers with outspoken personas to act as a foil for Su.
Iamsu! remains a distant figure on Sincerely Yours, but there's a charm in the constant amazement he expresses regarding his success thus far. Furthermore, his ruminations on unrequited love lack expected bitterness, as he instead seeks to understand his complicated feelings. “Ascension” starts with Su pumping himself up by running down all of the things that he’s accomplished over the last few years, but then comes “Runaway”, a distorted back-and-forth with a former lover that ends with him singing, “I thought you loved me.”
These are not insurmountable struggles, but other rappers have found universal appeal with far less relatable issues. “Problems” finds Su putting on the backpack of a conscious rapper, trying to weave his own issues with the problems of black people in America. The sentiment is nice, but he doesn't the passion in his voice to sell a track of such a weight. Su might not have the highest aspirations, but minor dreams can still compel a listener; Sincerely Yours just needed to find better modes of expression.
