4EVER BASED

Nueve Lio’s 4EVER BASED is exactly what makes the Long Beach rap scene so fun—where Asian dudes with blowouts can seamlessly flip between rapping and melodic crooning over beats that just bounce. The energy on this project is infectious, and even when the polish isn’t there, the vibe carries it a long way.

That being said, the mixing here is rough. Some of these tracks sound like they were recorded in a bedroom with a single take, and while that rawness has its charm, it also means certain elements—like Lio’s vocals—get buried under over-compressed drums or weirdly leveled synths. Some beats feel like they could slap way harder with just a little tweaking, but instead, they come off slightly muddy or unbalanced.

Despite all that, ALL MAJOR is a standout. The keys in the background are so simple but perfect, and the bass has that wobbly, low-end groove that makes the whole thing feel alive. Lio’s delivery on this track just clicks—his melodic runs feel more natural here than on some of the other songs where the autotune fights his voice a little too much.

There’s this thing with Lio where his voice can sound airy and smooth one second and then slightly strained the next, almost like he’s pushing his range just a little too hard. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But the way he layers his vocals—especially on hooks—is really interesting. You can hear these faint, almost whispered harmonies behind certain lines, and it adds this weirdly hypnotic effect, like he’s stacking voices in a way that makes you hear the song differently on every listen.

Overall, 4EVER BASED is fun as hell, but it’s also unpolished. The potential is there, and when it works, it really works. If Lio tightens up the production and fine-tunes his sound, he could easily push past the underground and make something even crazier.

NUEVE LIO - 4EVER BASED
RATING - 7.4/10

FAVORITE TRACK - ALL MAJOR
GENRE - Cali-Rap, Hip-Hop