A Day Off Work comes just months after Thomas’ previous album, Greater Ebenezer, which was inspired by his visit to New Orleans and catching up with friends, family and loved ones before deciding to set roots in Dallas — where we have a nice chat over tacos and margaritas.
“I went back home, reconnected with people that I hadn't seen since Katrina, saw my grandfather’s burial plot — he died in Vietnam when he was 21,” Lamar recalls. “That album was literally for me.”
Though some of the album’s standout tracks — like “Grown” and “Act Your Age” — dropped a year ago, shortly before Greater Ebenenzer, Thomas wanted this pair of diss tracks to be part of their own EP. He had originally recorded these two songs — along with 24 others — during an actual day off work from his job at a supplement shop after feeling motivated by another rapper — whose name Thomas did not disclose — had ailed his spirits.
Though the other songs Thomas recorded that day didn’t make the album, he maintained his motivation for newer songs.
“The groundwork was set with the [two-track] EP originally,” says producer Harrison “Loop 288” Hale. “From there, it was getting the rest of the picture into [the] frame. Getting the filler tracks and B-sides to other tracks and stories...I don’t look at each album as so much as a 'one up' of the previous but as a continuation of the story that’s unfolding.”
Thomas says he tapped into his creativity after another local rapper challenged him via social media. But he didn’t want said beef to overshadow the album. Rather, he wanted to show that he could master a multitude of flows and cadences. “I wanted to be like, Yo, I'm dope. I can do this,’ and let me switch it up and do this too.”
A Day Off Work was fueled by hip-hop's competitive spirit, starting from a pair of diss tracks to a full-concept album.
Harrison "Loop 288" Hale
But Thomas wasn’t going to let any beef slide without getting in their heads. As he noted in an Instagram post promoting the album, the full project comes a year after the pair of diss tracks dropped. “One of my rap potnas told me im sick in head cause I planned a year to the date,” he wrote in the post’s caption.
Those around Thomas know that this strategic marketing is simply part of his M.O.
“He's very forward-thinking,” says manager Callie Dee. “So even though he calls me his manager, and even though I've done a lot for him, he manages himself, so I don't wanna take any credit from him. By the time it comes down to doing a press release, or setting up a tour, or something like that, a lot of the hard work has already been done for me. You definitely want more artists like that.”
A Day Off Work opens with “Mellisa Son,” a track on which Thomas maintains his determination to carry on his family’s legacy. On the song’s intro is an actual voicemail from his birth father.
“[My biological dad] used to be the drum major at two high schools in New Orleans,” Thomas says. “And he was talking about how they had talent shows and he was telling me how him and his friends, performed as the Jackson 5 and he was Michael Jackson. He had dressed as Michael Jackson and was singing and then he was like, ‘Yo, you know your mom was singing in that same talent show.’”
Throughout the album, there are quite a few callbacks to Thomas’ New Orleans upbringing. The energetic “Beenie Weenie” pays homage to a regional dance movie. But the song also has some Easter eggs alluding to his new Dallas status — including a voicemail from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which he received after he was trying to increase his personal security.
Maintaining a sense of peace has been Thomas’ priority for years. Additionally, Thomas has been running with the same clique and collaborators for years. Loop has handled production on the bulk of Thomas’ discography. And on one of A Day Off Work’s standouts, “Novacane,” he is joined by Dallas rapper Kaution 700 as they offer thoughtful ruminations and motivational advice. “Keep my shoulders high, show respect unless you cross the line, that’s when I respond with aggression,” Kaution raps over a triumphant arrangement of horns.
This particular song came as part of an EP that Thomas and Kaution were planning. But due to their busy schedules, they only recorded two songs — each of them from beats sent in a package by Loop. “Novacane” was Kaution’s first choice, and took much inspiration from Thomas’ “relentless” work ethic.
“He always has an idea,” Kaution says. “And he won’t stop till he sees it through.”
Such a mentality is evident in “Painting the Blues” with D.C. rapper Doe Cigapom, which was inspired by a promise Thomas made to Cigapom.
“Doe is on dialysis, and he struggles sometimes when going back and forth and having the momentum to make music,” says Thomas. “I talked to Doe probably in like three or four times a month just to see how he's doing, because he's really a good friend. Loop went out to his house because it's hard for Doe to move a lot, because of the dialysis. He was like, ‘I really want to do a song with you, bro,’ because he was leaving. He was living in Fort Worth, but he was packing to move back to D.C. So I promised him, ‘Bro, I'm gonna come through.’ Loop came through first. They recorded the song, sent it to me, and I knocked it out. The main focus was making sure I lived up to my word, because Doe is my friend, and the song came out so fire.”
With vivid anecdotes and heavy backstories, A Day Off Work marks the beginning of a more personal chapter as a full-time Texan. But all work and no play makes for a dull day. And songs like the bouncy “Dope Man” allow the record room to breathe and simply have fun, as Thomas pays homage to Master P’s “Ice Cream Man.” This particular song is bound to be on your summer playlist, and Thomas posits it’s a fun anthem for a summer barbecue.
Though A Day Off Work comes over a year after a beef, Thomas’ prerogative is his overall wellness. On a more downtempo song, “Who Am I,” he repeats the phrase “God is still working on me.” This particular song was inspired by Thomas’ studies of stoicism.
“It's basically about understanding you can't control outside interactions,” says Thomas. “I'm not perfect. I don't want to be looked at like a God, I want to be looked at as me, not a savior of hip-hop. I don't hate the idea, I just don't think it fits. For me, being imperfect is cool.”
Establishing a routine has afforded Thomas much peace. While getting him to deviate from his schedule and take a full day off work proves to be impossible, the idea of not constantly writing and making music scares him.
Days after our night out, Thomas will celebrate his son’s high school graduation. He is also still hard at work promoting the album, and will likely appear on the bill at several Dallas performances this summer. After all, the New Orleans native is finally embracing his status as a full-time Dallasite, so we’re definitely going to see a lot of him in the near future.
“Everything I want, I can have in Dallas,” Thomas says. “I’m buying my first house here, I have my son here and I can continue to build — because I’m not moving back home. Dallas is like a melting pot of gumbo. Once you get your foot in and start moving around, the scene is just so nice.”
