Which is to say it's quotable in any situation, stuffed with a lifetime's worth of stories, all tossed off in an unassuming drone.Ĭonsidering Drake's recent infatuation with Makonnen, it should be unsurprising he's been drawn to Dej's similarly moon-eyed detachment. Her uncensored reality is one of violent threats ('Let a nigga try me, try me, I'ma get his whole muthafuckin' family'), pop culture references ('Set it off like Jada Pinkett'), armored self-awareness ('Mind full of money, heart full of demons'), everyday irritants ('Gave him my number he won't stop calling'), and casually tragic asides ('I've been out my mind since they killed my cousin'). In this setting, Dej's lonely sing-song melody propels errant thoughts, as if she were singing to herself with no audience.

It's the sonic topography of the Midwest, evoking open spaces under the unreal orange glow of city sodium lights.

In combination with its propulsive kick drums, the record's soft washes of synthesizer and serene, reverb-heavy piano recall a local history of futurist Detroit techno as much as any local hip-hop antecedents.

'I don't trust nobody, rather do it on my own/Get them squares out your circle, leave them pussy boys alone,' she spits on the Go Grizzly-produced 'Been On My Grind.' Switching things up yet again, Loaf enlists fellow Detroit rhymer Big Sean as her hype man for the bouncing, radio-friendly 'Back Up.' Sampling the classic Detroit juke beat from DJ Clent, the femcee warns, 'Yah yah bitch, back up off me/You don't know me, I'm too clean, I'm too holy, bitch I'm godly/I only go for real niggas who don't brag bout what they bought me/'Cause they know I got a bag, gotta fuck me up some commas.'Try Me', released in early July, glides on an airy, atmospheric gem of a beat by Ypsilanti, Mich., producer DDS. DeJ is still familiar with the Detroit streets that made her. DeJ raps, 'No shame in my game, I'm a fiend, I'm a junkie/You need a line of my love, put this pussy all on you/I got you bumpin' and grindin', got me screamin' and moanin'/Who's knockin' at the door? My legs locked right now.' But don't let the glammed up cover art or the soft, bedroom vibes fool you. Spitting her signature monotone flow to keep things lax, DeJ trades bars with Future on 'Hey There,' produced by iRock, J.

Dej loaf try me clean