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While Lndn Drgs have been lauded as some of the best and freshest West Coast hiphop in the game, their front man Jay Worthy is a bit more polarizing on his own. The recent Griselda signee has an ear for beats and plenty of freaky tales, but can be a bit grating with his nasally, pronounced flow. This newest album with Harry Fraud, however, stands out as some of his best work absent producer Sean House. You Take the Credit, We’ll Take the Check is a sign of artistic growth and a natural progression from the duo’s last outing.
What’s great about Jay is his ability to do his thing over all sorts of production, bringing the beat makers into his world. Harry Fraud, fresh off what might be his best produced album yet with Montega, brings a clean, lowkey sound which falls on the opposite side of the spectrum for Lndn Drgs’ sound. While Sean House brings bombastic, danceable funk samples, Fraud opted for something much more subtle; These simple beats are very nostalgic and definitely evoke that retro West Coast sound reflected on the cover art and in Worthy’s pimp attitude.
Jay Worthy himself brings a standout performance in his discography on You Take the Credit. He plays with his delivery to great success and to the point where he is borderline unrecognizable, so listeners who might have been put off by his voice before might be converted here. On the intro, for example, his voice is a bit deeper and washed out in the mix; Meanwhile on tracks like “Stick Up Kids” with Bandgang Lonnie Bands, he has a more aggressive, almost shouted delivery which adds a whole new dimension to his work.
Jay Worthy x Harry Fraud x Conway The Machine – HELICOPTER HOMICIDE (ft. Big Body Bes)
Lyrically, you know Jay brings all types of slick shit talk and in depth stories about pimping, a subject which has fallen a bit to the wayside outside of guys like Roc Marciano. In fact, despite being relatively underground, he might be carrying the mantle of Too $hort more than anyone else today.
One would also be remiss to not mention the expert pacing and features on this album. It’s packed with appearances from frequent collaborators coast-to-coast; The underrated Kamaiyah steals the show on “Good Lookin”, fellow Griselda member Conway kills his verse as expected on “Helicopter Homicide”, and others like Ramirez, A$AP Twelvyy, and even MadeinTYO make for unexpected but welcome fits for Harry Fraud production.
You Take the Credit, We’ll Take the Check is a pleasant surprise for doubters of Jay Worthy. As Harry Fraud continues a peerless run of collaborations, Worthy proves that he isn’t simply carried by beats. His forthcoming GxFR debut album should be highly anticipated give this artistic growth.
Listen to You Take the Credit, We’ll Take the Check on Spotify