LouiVon, a Westside New Orleans native, has had one of the greatest amount of attention in the recent New Orleans rap scene. LouiVon has one of the world’s great rap voices. and is also known for his creative visuals. Most of the time, though, he’s in gravelly, weathered, conversational mode, talking about weed and girls with a conversational elegance that falls effortlessly into the lush and breezy beats he’s so good at picking. LouiVon has released a good handful of mixtapes, but Amusement Impression seems to be the one where he’s really making his move, stepping out of long shadow of the “local New Orleans artist.” It’s long — 16 tracks — and, for a B-level rap mixtape, it’s star-studded, with guys like Guage, Unit, and TarougeSG showing up to contribute verses. It’s still a low-key affair, but if any LouiVon mixtape has ever been hyped-up, it’s been this one.
And the hype has been justified. Stylistically, the tape fits very well with what LouiVon’s been doing ever since he popped up on the scene — lush peals, funky live-sounding basslines. But tracks like “Get n Go” go for anthemic-banger status, and more or less get there. “Commission” has one of those slippery earwormy choruses. And even with these bursts of stylistic variation, the whole thing coheres beautifully, pulled together with the glue of LouiVon’s slow-drawling flow.
Tracklist:
1. Air On (prod. Roca Beats)
2. Neon Lights (prod. Sir FlyWalker)
3. No Rules (prod. Hannibal King)
4. Dream World (prod. A-Nice)
5. Mind To It (prod. Chemist)
6. Get n Go Ft. Gauge
7. Everywhere I Go (prod. ANice)
8. Horror Booth Ft. UNIT (prod. Nick Rio)
9. Stoner Misses II (prod. DJ Dahi)
10. Feel It (Prod. A-Nice)
11. Believer and Believers (prod. DJ Dahi)
12 .Commission Ft. TarougeSG (prod. Nick Rio)
13. LIVE Ft. Young Zed (prod. Serious Beats)
14. Roam (prod. DJ Drip Beats)
15. When, High.. (prod. Sledgren)
16. On De’ Go (prod. Foreign Allegiance)