Monaleo: Where the Flowers Don’t Die review – whiplash-inducing rapper thrives on sheer force of personality

(Stomp Down)
This unruly young Texan star throws some unexpected and slightly undercooked ballads on to her debut album, making it an uneven ride

Monaleo broke out in 2021 with Beating Down Yo Block, a bratty, booming track that turned an abusive relationship into an exhilarating kiss-off. A year later, the 21-year-old Texas rapper went TikTok-viral with We Not Humping, which featured some sublimely emasculating bars: “Wake up, mister lick everywhere but the fuckin’ clit!” she teased.

Where the Flowers Don’t Die, Monaleo’s debut full-length, attempts to show off the multifaceted human behind those barbs, introducing earnest acoustic balladry amid more prickly fare. It’s a wildly uneven ride, inducing a song-to-song sense of whiplash – from Sober Mind, a solemn piano ballad that interpolates Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know?, to Ass Kickin’, which opens with Monaleo repeatedly yelling “Come here, bitch! Lay down, hoe!” over an icy trap beat.

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