Larry June on Vinyl: Where to Start with the Bay Area Independent

Larry June was born Leonard Eugene Hendricks III and raised in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point, and for most of the 2010s he was the definition of a working rapper: CDs handed out at schools, music sold on consignment at Rasputin in Berkeley, a MySpace-era friendship with G-Eazy, a debut called Cali Grown in 2010, then a mixtape run deep enough that Complex came looking in 2014. Warner Records signed him after that, asked for two EPs, and did very little with them. He left.

What happened next is the part other artists study. June opened a DistroKid account, routed everything through his own label The Freeminded, and from 2021 added Empire for distribution, keeping ownership in house. The records started landing roughly one a year, each one a little more assured, and the catalog that resulted is the clearest argument on the shelf for staying independent and simply releasing good albums on schedule.

The music itself is calm on purpose. June raps slightly behind the beat about passive income, early mornings, orange juice and property, over production that leans on soul and funk loops rather than drums that demand attention. His regular collaborators tell you most of what you need to know: The Alchemist, Cardo, Curren$y. Below is the run GOOD TASTE carries, in order, from the 2021 record that set the template to the one landing this week.

Larry June - Orange Print

This is where the persona hardens into a project. Orange Print arrived on June 11, 2021 through TFM Records and Empire, thirteen tracks opening with another installment of the "From Uncle Herm" interludes that run across his catalog, with Money Man, Trae the Truth and DeJ Loaf stopping in. The orange branding that now follows him everywhere starts being load bearing here, and the transparent orange pressing is the right copy to own.

Why it's worth purchasing

• The first full statement of the independent era, cut loose from major label input.
• Thirteen tracks and no filler, the template every record since has refined.
• Transparent orange vinyl, matched to the title and the brand.

Larry June - Spaceships on the Blade

The big one, and the best single entry point. Spaceships on the Blade came out in 2022 on Empire and TFM, eighteen tracks that give him room to stretch past the loop tapes: Syd on "For Tonight", Duckwrth on "Brand New Machinery", Curren$y on "5.0 Chronicles", and The Alchemist producing "Breakfast In Monaco". It is his widest record without ever raising its voice. A standard pressing sits beside the orange and bone one.

Why it's worth purchasing

• Eighteen tracks, the fullest picture of what he does.
• Syd, Duckwrth and Curren$y on the features, Alchemist on one beat.
• Orange and bone colored vinyl, with a black pressing also on the shelf.

Larry June and The Alchemist - The Great Escape

One rapper, one producer, fifteen tracks, no wasted motion. The Great Escape landed March 31, 2023 through ALC Records, The Freeminded and Empire, with The Alchemist handling production throughout and Beat Butcha adding a hand on one cut. The guest list is unusually deep for a June record: Big Sean, Action Bronson, Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa, Boldy James, Joey Bada$$, Ty Dolla $ign, Evidence, Jay Worthy and Slum Village.

Why it's worth purchasing

• A full length Alchemist production, start to finish, no other beatmakers in the frame.
• The deepest feature list in the catalog, from Big Sean to Slum Village.
• The record that moved June from regional favorite to a national name.

Larry June - Doing It For Me

After a collaboration album, a deliberate return to working alone. Doing It For Me came out August 9, 2024 on TFM Records and Empire, fifteen tracks with no credited guests, which makes it the purest dose of the cadence and the subject matter. This is the picture disc pressing, so the artwork reads across the whole face of the record.

Why it's worth purchasing

• Fifteen tracks with no features, June carrying the entire record himself.
• The clearest listen to the writing, with nothing competing for the microphone.
• Pressed as a picture disc, artwork across the playing surface.

Larry June, 2 Chainz and The Alchemist - Life Is Beautiful

An odd pairing on paper that works immediately. Life Is Beautiful arrived February 7, 2025 on ALC Records and Empire, eleven tracks produced entirely by The Alchemist, with no outside guests: just June's low hum and 2 Chainz's timing trading off across the same loops. A deluxe edition followed in August 2025 with two more tracks. The ghostly blue indie exclusive is the pressing to look at first.

Why it's worth purchasing

• Two very different rappers over one producer, eleven tracks, no guests.
• Alchemist's warmest loop set since Alfredo.
• Available as a ghostly blue indie store pressing or standard black.

Larry June & Cardo - Until Night Comes

The other producer June keeps returning to gets a full album of his own. Until Night Comes came out in 2025 through Empire and The Freeminded, fourteen tracks built by Cardo, with Don Toliver, Wiz Khalifa, E-40 and Black C appearing. Cardo's drums sit heavier than Alchemist's, which pushes June slightly forward, and the Bay elders on the guest list place the record exactly where it comes from.

Why it's worth purchasing

• A full Cardo production, the other half of June's producer partnership.
• E-40 and Black C alongside Don Toliver and Wiz Khalifa.
• Pressed on green, blue and orange vinyl.

Larry June - Who Coppin

The newest chapter, and the one that brought this guide forward. Who Coppin was released July 17, 2026 on The Freeminded Records and Empire, with Wallo267 opening the record on "Go Outside" and Jhene Aiko, Musiq Soulchild, Swizz Beatz, B-Legit, Jay Versace and DJ.Fresh appearing across it. Cardo produced "The Machinist" and "Casual Mondays". The vinyl is dated October 2, 2026, and a limited clear and orange splatter pressing arrives with it.

Why it's worth purchasing

• The 2026 album, reaching vinyl for the first time this week.
• Jhene Aiko, Musiq Soulchild and Swizz Beatz on a Larry June record.
• Clear and orange splatter available alongside the standard pressing.

Where else to look

Plenty of June sits outside this list, almost all of it from the years before the albums started arriving annually: Cali Grown from 2010, the Route 80 tape he made with TM88 in 2014, and the stack of EPs from the Warner stretch and the first independent years. Those are streaming and mixtape history rather than vinyl history, which is part of why the run above reads so cleanly as a catalog.

If You Like Larry June

• Curren$y: the closest relative in tone and in business model, and a guest on two of the records above.
• Freddie Gibbs: the other rapper Alchemist built a full album around, sharper and more aggressive over similar loops.
• Roc Marciano: where the modern drumless, luxury-detail style largely begins.
• MIKE: younger, hazier and more interior, working from the same unhurried instinct.

Our Hip-Hop and Funk / Soul / Disco collections hold the wider world these records draw on, and the Essential Funk on Vinyl starter's guide covers the loops underneath them. For every Larry June title we carry, pressings included, browse the full Larry June collection.