album review Atlanta rapper's hometown love is both reverent and creativeAfter 15 years in the rap game (the 25-year-old started rhyming when she was 10), and about four in the mainstream, Latto’s gotten so good she makes it look easy. She knows how to switch flows and styles seamlessly, like the way she works some R&B into hard-hitting trap on her latest single “Big Mama” without a hitch. With hits like “Put It on Da Floor,” and its buzzy remix with Cardi B, she plays the mean-girl-bad-bitch role convincingly, especially after the sugary pop of her chart topper “Big Energy.” Though her third album, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, is a nearly frictionless listen, the intention and effort it takes to make something so cohesive, skillful, and succinct is undeniable. Throughout the album, she sounds confident, comfortable, and in control.Perhaps she seems so at ease on Sugar Honey Iced Tea because she literally made herself at home on it, crafting a careful ode to her Atlanta roots and life in the...
