If Cash Cobain isn’t the best sex rapper, then he’s definitely the most effortless. While artists like Cupcakke or Sexyy Red operate in blunt-force shock value, Cobain deals in cheesy charm, with his flirty overtures spilling out like pickup lines that should never work: “Me and her booty be twinning, why? Cause we fat.” Combining the tongue-in-cheek songwriting and muted melody with his breezy, kinetic production, he’s added a playful dimension to the sound that’s taken over New York City rap as the father of sexy drill. It’s a status he reinforces with “Play Cash Cobain,” the follow-up to last year’s debut album “Pretty Girls Love Slizzy” that triples down on the raunch while also leveling up on the sounds. Here, it’s as fun as it is inventive.
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Stretching out to 19 tracks, the LP is a breathless one featuring Quavo, Don Toliver, as well as return collaborators like Bay Swag and Chow Lee. There are more features — particularly on “Problem,” which includes a truly staggering 14 artists — but it’s rightfully the Cash Cobain show, with his cheeky wit and stylishly atmospheric soundscapes holding things down at center stage. In less charismatic hands, the thirsty bars could get redundant, but his constellation of cadences, sounds and flat-out imagination builds momentum instead of stagnation; a single Cash Cobain verse can play out like a “Kama Sutra” coloring book.
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There’s a general sense of horny whimsy seeping in everywhere from the song titles to the bar structures, with the Bronx creator sounding like a cross between a mutated Max B and The-Dream with less refined vocals. See “Rump Punch,” where Cobain threads his customarily thirsty bars with sly wit and surprising agility. “Yeah, I’m always out, but I’m into you / Why the slizzy god had to send me you? / Henny got you bent, but I’ma bend you too / If you got a man, we could bend the rules,” he raps, making negotiations for an illicit affair. Distilled through a whispery tone, it’s a barrage of mischievous playboy quips courtesy of the guy your mom warned you about — but somehow, there’s a convincing warmth there, too: “If I was your man, I’d be tender too.”
“Fisherrr” and “Dunk Contest” play out much the same way, with Cobain balancing jokes with murmured, chirpy flows and repetition that can make him sound like a horny pokémon. It’s an approach that turns stanzas into self-contained micro-choruses that are as endearingly pervy as they are infectious. It’s all threaded by quirky production, which remains a nostalgic playground. For “Cantsleep/drunkinlove,” Cobain embeds a cool throwback H-town sample with a subdued club beat and Ludacris interpolation for a track that’s sexy and stylish. Ditto for “Act Like,” which fuses a Tyrese clip with a nod to Pop Smoke and some abruptly explicit foreplay: “I want my dick in your throat.” It’s all more or less apex Cash Cobain, and he’s still pushing boundaries.
Featuring guest spots from 6LACK, Big Sean, Kenzo B, Fabolous and 10 others, the Laila!-sampling “Problem” is an exercise in perfect excess, with the varied styles and speedy pace of it all making it exhilarating where it could otherwise be tiresome. “Luv It” sees Cobain lace up a celestial soca-inspired soundscape, its beat as elegant as his vocal performance. But there’s a frank sexuality to it that makes it all uniquely slizzy — just as Cobain likes it.
Versatile, laugh-out-loud funny and, at times, pretty nuanced, “Play Cash Cobain” renders childish humor and romance in a seamless dance. Silly as it all is, it’s an exhibition for careful craftsmanship and execution. It just feels distinct. It’s evidence of why folks like Drake have been tapping in for the slizzy sauce, but even then Cash’s idiosyncrasies are largely inimitable, even if tracks like the Soulja Boy reimagining “Dunk” feel like they were created on autopilot.
Those seeking diverse subject matter here may find themselves disappointed, but Cobain’s varied deliveries and all-around weirdness keep it fresh. For his part, Cobain is aware of potential criticism, and he nods to it on the album: “She said all I rap about is sex, I said that’s all I wanna hear,” he raps on the meta “All I Wanna Hear.” With Cash Cobain’s magnetism, it’s hard to complain.
