This is the 7th EP from New York City emcee BVNGS. Beginning over a decade ago off the strength of her debut EP Not Available followed up by 7 Dutches & a Sweet Tea, Brown Girls & Bubble Coats, Lula & Only Crying Because I’m Drunk. She later caught the attention of amongst the underground’s most prolific artists in recent memory Flee Lord, who briefly signed BVNGSY to Lord Mobb Music & put out her 6th EP LaQuisha in the spring of 2021. Only 4 months later, I had the privilege of meeting her at a Catch 1 show in Los Angeles that Flee was headlining & was impressed by her set. 16 months following her full-length debut Mary Mack, she’s enlisting DJ M80 to host Twice a Day w/ Food.
After the intro, the first song “Herald” reminds everyone how she got her moniker over some pianos & 808s whereas “Missed Call” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about getting her roll on if you don’t answer her calls. “Big Dipper” takes a rap rock approach to the beat flexing that she’s too hot to be so cold & after a “Drug PSA”, “Nubuck” experiments with cloudy trap so she can catch some Ws.
“125th Sandman” returns to the boom bap asking God to forgive her for being so shitty while “Subconsciously Yours” drumlessly looks back at a breakup. “Never Dawg” lusciously feels content with bum bitches not handling this shit while the funky “Doomsday” talks about feeling tired because of the state of the world. “Vanish” goes a sample drill direction getting too lit & the drumless chipmunk soul outro “I Swear” finishes by talking about keeping her head high.
Mary Mack was a solid return for BVNGS the summer prior, but Twice a Day w/ Food surpasses it by revisiting the distinct chemistry that made Brown Girls & Bubble Coats such an entertainingly short listen in 2019. We’re still getting the boom bap, trap & drumless production heard all over BVNGSY’s debut album 16 months earlier except there’s hints of rap rock & sample drill thrown into the fold with the east coast lyricist sounding a lot hungrier since she’s not on a label anymore.
Score: 8/10
