Love Is Hell by Phora Review

Best 3 songs

1) Sinner Pt. 3

Standout Lyric:

“Trying not to choke and my lungs fill with smoke”

Sinner Pt. 3 is the third installment of the “Sinner” series. Sinner Pt. 2 was arguably one of the best songs on Phora’s last album Yours Truly Forever. Phora doesn’t disappoint with Sinner Pt. 3. Phora holds nothing back on this song talking about the consequences of love and trying to remedy the consequences with pills. This song almost feels like a therapy session with the listener. This extremely vulnerable side of Phora allows the listener to delve into the experiences and mind of Phora like a therapist. This one on one feel and subject matter make this song a highlight not only on this album, but in Phora’s career so far.

2) Stuck In My Ways (feat. 6lack)

Standout Lyric:

“And sometimes, the person you would take a bullet for is standing right behind the gun”

Phora and 6lack are at there best on Stuck In My Ways. Both of their verses are similar to the intimate feel of Sinner Pt. 3 talking about the authentic pain and feelings that come with being in a relationship. 6lack and Phora fit with each others styles perfectly. It will be interesting to see if they come out with more music together.

3) No Scope

Standout Lyric:

“All these rappers throwin’ tantrums
How you hard with a man bun? (Ha)”

A welcome change in the general slow-paced style of the album, Phora on No Scope takes shots at mumble rap and Soundcloud rappers. Obviously this topic doesn’t come close to the other subject matter he takes on, but the real reason why I liked this song was because it demonstrated Phora’s versatilely showing that he can make great songs at completely different tempos.

Overall Album Rating 80/100

Phora on Love is Hell demonstrates his clear potential to be one of the best in the current rap game. Not shying away from personal subjects Phora excels at lower tempos which allows for him to show his true talent. My only complaint about this album is the lack of versatility Phora shows. Phora obviously can speed the tempo up because of songs like No Scope, but he decides to the slow the tempo down for 90% of this album. To be one of the best albums of the summer you have to show your talent on all tempos and styles. Nevertheless, Love is Hell is a major improvement from his last album Yours Truly Forever. If Phora continues to make these giant leaps upwards from album to album he could easily be competition with the likes of Drake and Travis for best album of the year.