Review: 40b showcases the pain from attraction on “Love Riot”

40b arrives at 1DF for the first time. The Orlando native blends a melodic style with certain elements of genres ranging from Trap, R&B to Dancehall lightly sprinkled into the mix. 40 has slowly built up to this moment with a background in songwriting and several lower profile tapes to his name.Though this is considered his first “official project” it’s not as apparent on first listen. 40b is able to weave through different sounds without effort. From the first track it’s made known he is out to prove his skill to the world. On “Nothing At All” he uses maybe his strongest lyricism of the project to talk about love lost. From there the project leads into a tale of trust, or lack thereof. On “Trust Nobody” he speaks on broken bonds and how they have come to define the mindframe he currently resides in. This is one of my favorites off the EP.

From that point 40 turns up the energy from the introspective point in which it begins. Tracks like “Get Away” and “Hard In The Paint” make for great listens when in the mood for partying but still contain some good content. 40b rounds out the project with songs like “Gotta Go” which finds him making a declaration of independence. The album’s outro “Can’t Have You” is another more introspective record where the artist tries to resist temptation and ultimately disappointment in a certain woman.

Overall the project is cohesive in its presentation. With Cash Money Records-signed production team The Avengerz handling the production in its entirety the sound stays consistent throughout. 40b keeps with the theme of the album with a lot of emotional moments dealing with love and a few turn up records representing the riot. He is still kind of early in his progression but without question 40b places listeners on notice of his potential upon listening.