For 21-year-old rapper Liim Lasalle, clarity is key. During his live shows, the Harlem-raised, Brooklyn-based rapper is keen on offering the audience a few words describing the origins of each track he performs. “I definitely think that a song hits harder when you know what it means,” he says over Zoom ahead of the release of his debut album, Liim Lasalle Loves You, out today. “Sometimes when you’re performing, niggas can’t really hear what the fuck you’re saying really in depth. So I feel like it gives someone a title before they start reading the book.”
The literary comparison is no accident. Liim’s music unfurls like a novel, with details compounding into scenes you can picture in your mind. Take his single “Mezcal,” from the new album, which he says was inspired by trying the drink for the first time at a Clairo concert. The song opens with Liim in a moment of introspection rapping, “Timid when I pull up but the drink bring the best out/Lots of things I wouldn’t say weighing on my chest now.” The song plays out like the kinds of brooding confessionals that take place solo at the bar. “I ain’t never seen somebody go through what I did and try to get up,” he raps.
With a breezy, melodic flow reminiscent of Harlem legend Max B, Liim’s new album is a testament to his growth as an artist. Over the past few years, he says he’s had to make major changes in his life, including surrounding himself with new friends and more positive influences, as well as facing the end of a long-term relationship. ”I feel like my eyes have been opened to a lot more introspective views, and I’ve been able to let go of a lot more over the past few years,” he says. “I’ve also made some of the best music I’ve ever made in my life in the past two years as well. I feel like due to these experiences“
After releasing a string of singles along with his EPs, Petty Pete last year, Liim gained notoriety in part thanks to shout-outs from influential artists like Tyler, the Creator, who described his music to Zane Lowe as a combination between Max B and Stereolab. “He’s talking about a specific song called ‘Edward 40 Hands.’ I made that song shouting out Max B in the beginning of the song,” he explains. “I made that song intentionally with a Max B flow over some Stereolab shit, because I just wanted to hear what it would sound like. I wasn’t even going to put that out, but I was like, fuck, it’s kind of fire.”
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That sort of experimentation is at the core of Liim’s process. He describes first getting into music through skate videos growing up, which presented him with a wide breadth of genres and sounds. “I was really exposed to a lot of different-ass shit,” he says. “I was listening to Smashing Pumpkins and fucking Kodak Black. I feel like that’s really been influential on my songwriting and my style when it comes to music.”
Sonically, Liim Lasalle Loves You runs the gambit of vibes. As a vocalist, Liim has a potent R&B croon infused with Harlem’s instinctive, laid-back cool. His flow, while indeed reminiscent of Max B, has its own melodic pocket that could easily fit in the context of jazz or pop music. He cities being shown Steve Lacy and Frank Ocean by one of his friends growing up as another influential moment for his sound, and the genre-bending ethos of both artists is felt in Liim’s music.
Where Liim shines brightest, however, is lyrically. With a playful but earnest sense of introspection, his debut album introduces a vibrant, unflinching vulnerability, as he unpacks his own coming-of-age. “I’m less nervous to do that than to tell somebody I know in real life,” he says of writing songs about his life. “Honestly, I’m not afraid of vulnerability though. I’m definitely not an oversharing-ass nigga, but when the time is right to say some shit, I’m probably going to say it and keep it real.”
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He says songwriting has helped him find the words to navigate his own feelings at times. “I feel like some people listen to music and they let the words go,” he says. “If you do listen to the music, it helps you have a way with words, it helps you articulate your emotions a little better, and even feelings you didn’t know how to communicate, which is what I feel like my advantage has been since early. Because I’ve always been very into the lyrics of the song.”
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Liim’s also a big movie buff. He mentions the classic Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown as a recent source of inspiration. You can see in all of his music videos that, in addition to telling stories through his music, Liim is deeply fascinated with the possibilities of film. “I think the ultimate goal is to fully put my foot in that door one day and be able to create masterpieces on film,” he says. “Romance movies and shit.”
Naturally, he approached his debut with a cinematic eye. “I wanted this album to be like a movie that isn’t necessarily story based completely, but it all has to do with the same plot. It all has to do with love,” he says. “The last song on the album is called ‘Liim Lasalle Loves You,’ and I’m talking about how sometimes you’re lucky enough to fall in love with somebody that loves you back. Sometimes you’re not. It’s all right. You’re going to be all right.”
