This album was released on August 21st in 2020. Stik Figa & Conductor Williams released one of my favorite extended plays of 2020, so I had pretty high expectations for this album that preceded it. I felt bad for not reviewing Heavens to Mergatroyd, so I’m gonna rectify that by covering this one. I don’t know if I’ll love it as much as the aforementioned extended play, or even as much as IF IT’S THE LAST THING I DO, but I’m positive that I’ll like it to some extent. Every track is of course produced by Conductor Williams.

---

---

There aren’t any tracks that I don’t like on this album, so I’ll write about the full project in the proper order of the track listing. The first track is an instrumental intro called One Minute Alert. It’s kind of repetitive, so I don’t have much to say about it. The loop is great though. I’m glad they kept this track short because it would’ve gotten old if it lasted any longer since it’s so repetitive. I think it’s dope. Track 2 is called The Caged Bird Screams. The title of this track alone had me really excited to listen. The production here reminds me a lot of something Madlib might make. It’s a really dope beat. The sample of ODB singing in the background from the remix of Woo Hah!! is fucking awesome. The content of this track really resonated with me too. The title is a good indication of what the lyrical content is about; Stik Figa’s rapping about how fucked up being in jail is and how harmful it is to one’s mental wellbeing.

Nobody ask how you feelin’, you feelin’ hopeless
Ask where the hope went, hope has been eroded
Was left this pain, we just waitin’ on explosions
More bodies, more roses, no love, I’m lost focus
The whole system bogus, fuck 12 and its proponents
Protect and serve properties, aware of all your motives
Freedom, justice, and equality ain’t been for me, I know it
How you rollin’? Tres five seven loaded for my opponents

He killed the first verse. The hook is pretty simplistic, but it serves its purpose as a break between the verses well enough. I think the second verse is even better than the first one. The multi-syllabic rhyme patterns here are very nice.

Mountains out of molehills, mortals into messiahs
The devil is resourceful, more-so he’s a liar
Evelyn enjoyed every morsel of the papaya
Too late to be remorseful, ignore the pariah
Pitter-patter with little feet, the data is incomplete
I used to wonder why they even had us under this grief
Sippin’ syrup from the very day that we grab the teet
I started noticin’ patterns, cadavers under them sheets

He killed this shit. I think the song is dope as hell. Track 3 is called The Meek, and I like the beat here even more than that of the preceding track. I love how melodic and pretty the instrumental is. By the way, Conductor Williams’ producer tag in which that guy says “Conductor! Conductor! Conductor!” is really cool. I think this track has one of Stik Figa’s catchiest flows on the album. There’s only one verse on this track, but it’s really nice.

This deeper than rap
Crash dummies believe in the cap
The heathens’ll clap
Follow the melody; feet, they gon’ tap
Reading the map
Chasing my demons, completed a lap
We at the table, they feedin’ us scraps
Money don’t sleep, I needed a nap

The song’s got a very straightforward structure, but there aren’t any aspects of it that I dislike. I think it’s very dope. It’s followed by The Ego, which is a major highlight for me. The beat on this track honestly blew me the fuck away. I think this beat is amazing. It sounds a lot more grandiose than the preceding couple of instrumentals, mainly because it sounds like it incorporates more instruments. I love Stik Figa’s attitude on this track too. It kinda reminds me of Elzhi’s Egocentric.

It’s called energy, I’m carrying no animus
I’m hardly glamorous, I’m movin’ like a champion
Everyone a expert, a pundit, an analyst
They all got opinions, but when you need ‘em they can’t assist
Ain’t that a bitch? I’m still representing Kansas
Feelin’ fantastic at a disadvantage
Don’t ask where my hands been, it’s blood on the canvas
I was never rappin’ for no Instagram caption

I really like how this track is juxtaposed with The Meek. I can’t decide whether I’m more impressed by the production or the rapping. Stik Figa & Conductor Williams both killed this shit. I think the song is dope af. It’s immediately followed up by another major highlight called The Ritual. I absolutely adore the piano-driven production on this track. I love the dusty-sounding percussion too. Once I got to this song, I knew it was gonna be hard for me to choose a favorite track. Stik Figa killed this shit.

Raised by principled individuals since middle school
Off the deep end, sharks in the kiddie pool
Takin’ no shorts, no matter how miniscule
You keep a stitched lip in the midst of the interview
Ghetto boys that was annoyed by gangs
We made a choice, lost your voice when homies point and aim
You can’t avoid bullets deployed and then destroy your frame
Talkin’ wet, but now he coy; hope he enjoy his fame

This track also has one of my favorite hooks on the project. I have no gripes with the song at all. Both of the verses are fire, and I love the melodic beat. This shit is dope af. It’s followed by The Wind.

This one has a more lighthearted, kind of jazzy instrumental. The hook is pretty straightforward, but it serves its purpose well. The rapping here is great.

There’s no way to finesse, though I never studied physics
Our distance from the sun in rotation on these ellipses
Little we control, maybe money, diet, and fitness
But when it’s your time to go no scientist can prevent it
Quicksand in the hour glass, swallowed by a business
For the minutes I was given decisions to document it, so
When my time is ended there’s something left in remembrance though
Everyone’s forgotten eventually, what’s the difference?

I feel like I’ve come to appreciate Stik Figa’s rhyme patterns a lot more than I did in the past. Pretty much every verse I hear from him these days really impresses me, which wasn’t always the case. I think this shit is dope. Track 7 is called Aqua Lung. This track has one of the prettiest beats on the album in my opinion; it sounds really heavenly. It’s also the only track with features. The opening verse from Stik Figa is really nice.

The whole world is on the brink of collapse
And what I do? I don’t know, I’m just thinkin’ of raps
A nigga be woke, but I needed a nap
Rest in peace to Nip’ though, I completed a lap

The second verse is performed by someone named Show, who I’d never heard of before. I liked his relatively aggressive delivery, and he had some nice lines in there.

I write heat, I gotta be careful with what I write on
Checkin’ every station, none of ‘em play the right song
‘Cause everybody soundin’ like everybody, am I wrong?
Whoever number 1, that’s the rapper I got my eye on
Let me at ‘em, I target rappers at random
Could take ‘em single handed or target rappers in tandem
That’s two at the same time, they’re rappin’, I can’t stand ‘em
When it come to rappin’, things always go the way that I plan ‘em

His delivery kinda reminds me of Murs a little bit. The third verse from Les Izmore is fire. His voice kinda reminds me of El da Sensei. I love how energetic his delivery was. His melodic outro was nice too. This track is dope as hell to me. The penultimate song is entitled The Inheritance, and it’s another highlight for me. I love the angelic, sample-based production here. I really like the way this song is structured too; Stik Figa’s just rapping the whole time with no hook or bridge or anything like that.

This ain’t desperate, this is purpose
Not arbitrary, but pertinent
Guess we all searchin’ for somethin’ beneath the surface
Intuition and discernment, found value in what is worthless
Only ask what’s certain and how you earnest
Once too concerned with if my death would make the paper
Now I’m relieved that I’ll be gone to the creator
What you achieve when you can focus your behavior

I think the verse here is really great. I don’t have any gripes with the track. I think it’s dope as hell. The closing track is entitled The Earth.

The beat on this one sounds like an audible rainforest to me. It sounds really dreamy. The hook on this track is pretty solid, but the main appeal is the actual rapping along with the production for me. I guess that can be said about pretty much every track on this album to be fair. The first verse on this track is nice, but the second one stood out to me more.

I’m from the city, sinner was a fixture on the ave
Mixin’ ginger in the flask, tasted bitter in the past
Some of my medicine, the best I ever had
So goodbye of winter as finger prints on tempered glass

Overall, while it’s not one of my favorites, I still think it’s a very dope track. I fuck with it.

---

^{This album is really great. Once again, I think it’s some of the best work Stik Figa has ever done. If you’re a fan of him, this is one of those projects that you just need to hear. It’s not my number one favorite project from him, but I can’t even really say I have any consistent gripes with it. Throughout the listening process, I was always excited to hear what the next beat from Conductor Williams would sound like, and I was consistently impressed by Stik Figa’s multi-syllabic rhyme patterns. Between Conductor Williams & Rob Viktum, I don’t know who I like Stik Figa working with more. He always makes dope shit with both of them. I’m glad I finally was able to cover this album because it deserves to be checked out. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. It’s dope as hell to me.}

Favorite Song: The Ritual
Least Favorite Song: The Meek

88