In recent years, it’s gotten harder and harder for the rap game to overlook MAVI. Between his independent efforts Laughing So Hard, It Hurts (2022) and the even more introspective shadowbox (2024), not to mention choice placements for tracks by Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist, the critical acclaim for this North Carolina artist grew to a point of near undeniability. That continuing rise gets a consequential boost with The Pilot, a concise yet impactful mixtape conceived and executed in sobriety. From his disarming boasts about being the best-dressed in therapy on opener “Heavy Hand” through the closing confidence of “Potluck” with Smino, he delivers intricate flurries of thoughtful bars representing his new-found clarity in hindsight and otherwise. The freedom of the format gives him a looser framework to operate within than on his albums, leading to gratifying moments like the fluidly discursive “G-ANNIS FREESTYLE” and the artfully performed “Denise Murrell”. MAVI especially stands out on collaborative cuts with formidable MCs Kenny Mason and the aforementioned Earl, more than holding his own on “Typewriter” and “Landgrab”, respectively.