Lunchbox: “Nothing Gone Last” Track Review

On first listen, Lunchbox’s rubbery melodies might seem like they belong in conversation with the post-Future internet rap that’s soundtracked mosh pits everywhere throughout the 2020s. But despite a few stylistic similarities, the emotion in his music feels more intimate, meditative, and soulful. “Nothing Gone Last,” from the Harlem native’s new tape, L.B. Cooper, is more likely to make you stare into the middle distance thinking about your life decisions than headbang. Tweaking the digital funk of New Jazz into a blast of Final Fantasy euphoria with his producer Amir, Lunchbox’s strained vocal acrobatics are for more than flash: They heighten the back-against-the-wall intensity and we-gonna-make-it-at-all-costs energy that has been ingrained in Harlem freestyle rap for generations.