After years of strong guest features and acclaimed mixtapes, North Carolina MC Rapsody comes into her own with her ambitious second LP, Laila's Wisdom. Backed by a slew of vintage samples and soulful live instrumentation, Rapsody flaunts unhurried flow, consummate storytelling skills, and a knack for memorable choruses on songs like "Pay Up," revealing her frustration with deadbeat dudes over slinky electric guitar and the swirling '70s funk of "Sassy." Longtime compatriot Anderson .Paak delivers the hook on the languid "Nobody," and Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody's original cosigner, elevates the woozy, psychedelic "Power."