This album was released on December 7th this year. Locksmith is one of those battle rappers who successfully made the transition to a viable recording artist. There are still videos of him dismantling guys like Daylyt & Dizaster on YouTube. I’ve listened to every project he’s released since 2013, and most of them are pretty good. The only one that I was kind of disappointed in was his 2017 album, Olive Branch. He was making a lot of songs with R&B singers doing the hook, and it just didn’t really work for me. He followed it up this year with an Apollo Brown produced EP entitled No Question, which I think is his best project to date. I didn’t review it, but for the record I think it’s a great project. I’m expecting this album to be really good. I think he’s a fantastic lyricist, and he’s super under appreciated. I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard a bad song from him. He’s made tracks that I wasn’t interested in returning to, but none of them are ever actually bad. Hopefully that hasn’t changed with this project.

1. Bloodline produced by Mike TopNotch, Mike Blankenship & Locksmith

This is a pretty good opening track. I’m not blown away by the production, but it’s definitely not bad. It serves its purpose. The hook is pretty simplistic, but it works. I honestly don’t really have shit to say about this track. The two verses are really good, especially the second one. I wouldn’t call this amazing though. It’s just a good song. I don’t have any issues with it at all. I fuck with this song. It’s dope.

2. Gimme a Sec produced by Decap

The beat on this track is a lot more interesting than that of the previous track. Locksmith’s flow on the first verse is fantastic. Damn. I just finished listening to this entire song. This is definitely better than the first track. He was spittin’ his ass off on both of the verses on this track, and I even like the sung hook. On previous albums I haven’t enjoyed Locksmith’s singing at all, but he doesn’t sound horribly off-key on this track. I like that it doesn’t last too long. This song is better than the opening track in every single way honestly. The production is really good, and Locksmith rapped his ass off. This shit is dope af.

3. Ghost featuring Jarren Benton produced by Kato & Black Cloud

The production from Kato on this track is pretty nice. Locksmith’s flow on the first verse was great. The hook is nothing special, but it works. Jarren Benton’s verse was pretty great. He didn’t steal the show from Locksmith though. Locksmith really came through on that final verse. I love how he acted like it was going back into the hook, and then he came back again and killed it even more. He fuckin’ snapped on that final verse. Honestly, this is another really phenomenal track. I don’t have any problems with it at all. Locksmith fuckin’ killed this shit. It’s dope af.

4. Prison produced by Kato

This is another really great song. I just listened to the whole thing. The beat from Kato is pretty good, and once again Locksmith fuckin’ snapped on this shit.

The same reason why Lil Pump is eatin’ off us
Is the same reason why Donald Trump is in office
We fail society as a whole
So how can we blame him when our president is a troll?

This is a pretty straightforward track. It’s just one verse sandwiched in between two recitals of the hook. The verse is really good. The song itself doesn’t blow me away like the previous couple of tracks did, but I still think it’s really good. This shit is dope.

5. Alarm produced by Mike TopNotch

The beat on this track is cool. I just listened to the whole song. This is definitely one of the weaker songs on the album so far, but I still think it’s pretty good. The rapping on this track is great, especially on the final verse. I just wasn’t really that impressed by the hook. I don’t actually have anything to say about this track honestly. It’s just another good song. I think it’s dope.

6. Selfish produced by Kuya Beats

This song has one of the best beats on the album. It sounds like it has some slight Electronic influence. It’s the most melodic beat on the project. It’s really dope. I think this is a really good song. I don’t even really mind the singing from Locksmith on this track. It’s not great, but it works. Locksmith doesn’t really start rapping until after a minute and thirty seconds. He’s goin’ in about being in a relationship with a selfish woman. There’s only one full verse on this song, which is pretty good. Overall I think it’s an enjoyable song, but it’s not one of my favorites. I mean, in terms of production I think it’s probably the best song on the album so far. Locksmith’s rapping didn’t blow me away on this track though. Anyway, I fuck with this song. This shit is dope.

7. Tense produced by Nova Kei

This is another one of the more melodic songs on the album. I really like the piano driven production. The first verse from Locksmith is really dope. The singing on the hook is a little shaky, but he just barely pulls it off. His flow on the verses is really great. The hook is pretty weak, but it’s not bad enough to ruin the song. However, this is probably my least favorite song on the album so far. His vocals on the hook just sound really weak. Other than that it’s dope. I fuck with this track.

8. Stars featuring Murs produced by Apathy

The sample based production on this track is really great. It’s pretty interesting to hear Locksmith rap about his meeting with Dr. Dre back in 2015. The first verse was great. The hook is pretty good too. The second verse from Murs was cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been blown away by a verse from him, but he did his thing here. His verse was sufficient. The final verse from Locksmith was great. He definitely out-rapped Murs on this track. Anyway, this is another good song. I don’t really have any issues with it. Locksmith rapped his ass off, and the feature from Murs was solid too. This shit is dope.

9. Rederik produced by Decap

This track is one of the better songs on the album to me. The production is good. I wouldn’t call it great. I definitely enjoyed it though. Locksmith snapped on both of the verses on this song. I feel like I haven’t really had much to say about most of the songs on this album. I pretty much feel the same way about almost every track though. This one in particular is another track with solid production, fantastic rapping, and a tolerable hook. Nothing about the song really blows me away, but I definitely like it a lot. This shit is dope.

10. Clouds produced by Kato & Gummy Beatz

This song has one of the hardest beats on the whole album. It kinda sounds like something Drake would’ve spit over around 2015. The first verse on this track is pretty good, but Locksmith really went off on that second verse. The hook is pretty good too. This is another track where I don’t really have much to say about it. It’s just a cool beat with a decent hook and two really great verses. I think it’s a pretty good song, but I’m not blown away by it. It’s dope though. I fuck with this.

11. He Said She Said produced by Decap & Gyrefunk

This is easily my least favorite song on the album so far. I don’t think I would call it wack, but I can’t really get into it honestly. I don’t really care for the thumping bassline. It sounds like something I’d hear in a club surrounded by white people who are perpetually fist pumping. I don’t really care for the content of this song either, and the hook isn’t doing anything for me. The beat isn’t terrible. It’s just not for me. Locksmith’s rapping well on this track. I just don’t really care for the song as a whole. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just not really that good to me. I won’t be listening to it again. It’s decent though.

12. The Emperor’s Clothes featuring Vinnie Paz produced by Apathy

Vinnie Paz fuckin’ killed the opening verse on this track. He has such a great voice for rap. He sounded awesome on this song. I don’t think he stole the show from Locksmith at all though. In fact, Locksmith’s verse kinda blows Vinnie’s verse out of the water. Vinnie Paz was a great way to set Locksmith up though. I think this is one of the best songs on the album honestly. The feature is really dope, and Locksmith fuckin’ rapped his ass off on this track. The beat from Apathy is solid too. I don’t have any issues with this song. This shit is dope.

13. No Lies produced by Apathy

I don’t really have anything to say about this song honestly. It doesn’t really stand out from the rest of the tracks on this album. I think it’s a good song, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites. The sample based production from Apathy is pretty cool, and the two verses from Locksmith are really good. The hook’s fine. There’s not really anything out of the ordinary about this song. It’s just another above average song. I like it. I don’t have any issues with it at all. I’m far from amazed, but I definitely enjoyed this to a certain extent. This shit is dope.

14. Love Me produced by Mike TopNotch

The beat on this track is pretty cool. It has this weird clicking sound in it that I like a lot. This is the shortest song on the album. I feel pretty much the same way about this track as I did the previous one. It’s just two really good verses over a solid beat. I don’t have any issues with it. It’s not gonna blow anyone away, but I enjoyed it overall. It did have kind of an abrupt ending, but that’s not really that big of a deal for me. I think this is another good song. I fuck with it. It’s dope.

15. On God produced by Decap

The hook on this track is actually really dope. It kinda reminds me of the hook from Never by J.I.D. Honestly this is one of the best songs on the entire album. The Trap inspired production is dope, and the first verse from Locksmith is great. He absolutely spazzed on that last verse though. That’s probably the best verse on the whole album. He really went out with a bang. I don’t have any issues with this song at all. This is a really great song. It’s dope af.

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This is a great album. Honestly from what I’ve heard, this is definitely the best album Locksmith has ever released. It’s a big step up from Olive Branch, which I was disappointed in. This project isn’t plagued by a bunch of mediocre sung hooks like that album was. Locksmith was spitting his ass off throughout this project. There’s not a single weak verse on this album. There aren’t even any songs that I would call bad. There’s just one song on here that I don’t see myself coming back to. It’s not even that bad though. I wasn’t blown away by any of the beats on this project, but they’re all sufficient. I think this is the best album that’s been released in December so far, and I won’t be surprised if that doesn’t end up changing by the time the year’s over. This shit is dope.

Favorite Song: On God
Least Favorite Song: He Said She Said

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