If his recent singles – including "Flowers," "Leprosy," and "Camera Shy" – are anything to go by, then Ghais Guevara will drop one of 2025's best albums very soon. Moreover, his next project Goyard Ibn Said continues this persona and releases on January 24 of next year. The Philly-based rapper and producer just solidified his upcoming LP's greatness with another track drop: "4L." It's a bouncy, progressive, exciting, and pretty conflicted banger with some amazing sample flips and instrumental additions.
Also, it certainly helps that Ghais Guevara's witty charisma and compelling turns of phrase make the rapping display on "4L" an absolute treat. The song is kind of conflicted, as mentions of men cowering in darkness and of sin-loving honor roll girlies seem to point to primal urges clashing with present realities. It's all a tad vague, but these lyrical mentions are certainly evocative and work well with the rambunctious instrumental. Also, this is nothing new for Goyard. His condemnations of political and economic systems pair with his more grounded and quotidian perspective as a hip-hop head, resulting in timelessly resistant anthems.
What's most impressive about "4L" and the other Goyard Ibn Said singles, though, is just how much Ghais Guevara seems to have improved his songwriting chops and the complementary elements of his music. There was definitely more controlled chaos in his earlier work like BlackBolshevik and There Will Be No Super-Slave, and while we aren't ruling the possibility of that out for his next album, this refinement and focus doesn't compromise on talent, skill, message, or ethos.
Ghais Guevara's "4L"
Quotable Lyrics
All that glory don't mean nothing, though we took it on the chin,
'Til the gravity from tension starts to cave us both in,
We was tripping and relapsing, we fell victim to the passion,
Stay provoking me with rhapsodies, you about to make it happen