This album was released on June 3rd this year. TreaZon‘s last couple of albums have both been really impressive to me. In fact, I Shouldn’t Be Alive was one of my favorite albums of 2020, so I was pretty excited when I found out about this latest record. He also spit one of my favorite verses of 2021 on Will Tesla‘s latest album. I hate to use the U word, but I honestly feel like TreaZon is one of the most underrated rappers out right now. It’s rare for me to be unimpressed by a TreaZon verse. With that in mind, I’m actually expecting this to be one of the best albums of the year. He hasn’t let me down in the years that I’ve been following him, so I doubt this will be any different. Every track is produced by Oh Genius.
The opening track is entitled Inferno, and it’s fucking awesome. This is easily one of my favorite tracks on the album. I can always count on TreaZon to kill every verse, so I wasn’t necessarily surprised at how good his performance was here. However, I was really shocked by how fantastic the production from Oh Genius is. This beat sounds like it was performed by a full fucking orchestra. I love the way this song starts. The way TreaZon was rapping with no percussion was really impressive, and when the drums finally come in his flow goes full beast mode.
I done had enough
Been stressin' over shit that ain't gon' matter in a month
Way too many niggas that done made a bunch
Of empty ass threats, no respect for a cappin' ass bluff
Fuck y'all if you can't manage to adjust
I done made it through all of the damage that was done
Motherfuck the enemies who said I wasn't comin'
Now the jokes on you 'cause I'm better than I was
His flow on this track is mesmerizing, and I love how aggressive his vocal delivery is. The electric guitar motif sounds fantastic too. There’s really not a single aspect of this song that I don’t like. I love the production, and TreaZon spazzed over it. This is one of the best opening tracks I’ve heard all year. I think it’s dope af. The following track is another highlight entitled PTSD. Once again, the detailed, layered production from Oh Genius is stellar, and TreaZon sounds phenomenal over it. I appreciate how they kinda slowed things down in comparison to the opening song. I guess the beat is pretty mellow, but TreaZon still spits with an energetic delivery that sounds really great. As far as lyrical content goes, he gets really personal about the mental struggles he’s been having and the issues that come with certain relationships.
A lot of these niggas have backstabbed me and crossed me
But I lost more respect for you than I lost sleep
They'll twist you up for a rap like it's all three
I can't let the demons all haunt me, PTSD
I think I misquoted that third line, but it is what it is. I appreciate how he also kinda mentioned police brutality in the final verse, along with the effects it’s had on him mentally. I love this song. I think it’s dope as hell. The following track is called Pain, and it’s fire. Once again, the production is relatively mellow and lush. The first verse from TreaZon is super well-written.
They want their flowers while they still could smell 'em
That couldn't be me
I don't want nothing that's going to die even quicker than me
The only petals that I be concerned with is under my feet
Down to the floor
Either when revving the engine or me taking walks as a king
They love me not, and that's the root of the problem
'Cause they throwin' dirt on my name, but it grew and it blossomed
As always, his flow is smooth as hell, and his delivery is nice and aggressive. I even like the sung hook on this track. I think this song has one of the best hooks on the album. I really appreciate how fleshed out this song is too. It has three whole verses, a hook, and a short bridge. The beat switches up for the final verse nicely too. It’s a really well-crafted song. I don’t have any complaints. I think it’s dope as hell. Track 4 is called Tinted Windows, and I reviewed it earlier this year.
This single was released on February 18th this year. TreaZon is an artist I’ve been following since 2014 when he was featured on Sylvan LaCue‘s amazing mixtape, Searching Sylvan. He really stood out on that tape, so I was pleased to find out that his solo material is really goddamn good as well. My favorite project from him is definitely I Shouldn’t Be Alive, but Troublesome is dope as hell too. Needless to say, I was pretty excited about this latest single. It’s from his upcoming album, which he’s promoting as his best work to date, so I’m definitely looking forward to that. The first thing that stood out to me about this song is Oh Genius’ production. This beat is really nice. I love how jazzy, melodic, and meditative it sounds. The horns and electric guitars sound phenomenal. The hook from TreaZon is pretty solid too. The background vocals sound good. It’s really the actual verses that make this song what it is though. I’ve never heard anything less than great rapping from TreaZon, and this song is no exception. The first two verses are really nice. That final verse though? That’s my favorite part of the song. The beat kinda switches up, and TreaZon employs a completely different flow. The way he referenced Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and kinda performed each line with a more melodic delivery was awesome. The song just gets better and better as it progresses. I really appreciate how he was able to fit three whole verses in this track without letting things get stale and repetitive too. Songs with three verses are getting rarer and rarer, but he pulled it off beautifully. I think this song is dope as hell. Anyway, give it a listen and let me know what you think of it. If you dig it, consider checking out one of the two albums I referenced at the beginning of this review.
Honestly, the song has grown on me even more within the context of the album. It’s easily one of my favorite tracks on the project. I think it’s dope af. Track 5 is called Ghosts, and it features Dasanto & Will Tesla. The first verse from Dasanto is very good, and the second verse from Will Tesla is even better in my opinion. In fact, the song just gets better and better with each verse. I liked that Contra reference from Will, and the hook from TreaZon is pretty good too. TreaZon definitely had my favorite verse on this track, but everyone showed up to rap well. This isn’t really a highlight for me on the album, but I definitely enjoyed it. It just didn’t blow me away like a lot of the other tracks did. It’s dope though. It’s followed by Choose, which has my favorite hook on the whole album. It’s impossible for me not to join in when he chants “any time I choose I’ma choose violeeennnce.” It’s fire. This track has a relatively uptempo instrumental as well, which I appreciate. TreaZon of course killed all of the verses, especially the final one.
Niggas act like they allergic to the truth
They determined to be fluke
I ain't runnin' with none of them, it's never gon' happen
I ain't even got a circle or a group, but I'm circlin' your group
Think I'm subbin' then I'm prolly meanin' you
Walk in the grass, I see the serpents in the view
Judgment Day, now this is Terminator 2
Got this shit down to a T
One thousand usin' murder as a tool
So is it life or death? Go and choose
'Cause I know what I'ma do
I enjoyed this song on my first listen, but now I love it even more than I originally did. I think it’s dope af. It’s followed by Choose, Pt. 2. I really like the production here, and I love how aggressive and fast-paced TreaZon’s flow is over it. The song just gets better and better with each verse too. I love the violent storytelling on this track.
Now hold up
He was on the 'gram, nigga talkin' all wild like he wanted that
Hope the nigga really understand what come with that
He was DMing me talkin' whole bunch of smack
Little do he know I know where his brother at
Where his cousin at, catch him slippin' if he go to where his mother at
Hop up out the whip, let a hundred clap
The song’s got a really emotional conclusion too. I love the way this track ends. Much like the preceding song, this track grew on me with repeat listens. I think it’s dope as hell. Track 8 is called You Over Me, and it features a singer named GATS. I really dig the kind of mellow production on this track, and the lyrical content from TreaZon is pretty dope. I mean, I typically wouldn’t be as into something like this since he’s just rapping about relationship struggles, but it’s so well done that I can’t help but enjoy it.
What the fuck was my life before we first met?
Really nowadays I'm storin' up stress
Late nights in the room, distraught with no rest
And we torn 'cause the love and war just don't mesh
And we at war with no vest
Even though it's feelin' like there's nothin' goin' on in my chest
No heartbeat, no less
Your words always hit like a couple of swords in my flesh
The hook from GATS isn’t bad, but it honestly didn’t really add much to the song for me. I think GATS has a good voice and is very talented. It’s just that the melody itself wasn’t super entertaining to me. It wasn’t bad at all though. This song isn’t really a highlight compared to most of the other tracks in my opinion, but it’s still very dope. I fuck with it. The penultimate track is called Switch Up.
This track has one of the best instrumentals on the album in my opinion. As far as song structure goes, this is one of the more straightforward tracks on the project. It’s got a pretty catchy sung hook. The background vocals are a nice touch. Both of the verses from TreaZon are really good too.
Niggas switchin' on the ones they build with to try to get a dollar bill
I been to Raccoon City and I been to Silent Hill
But it ain't nothin' compared to the fear that I honestly felt
I can't describe it well, but as far as I can tell
I done seen some shit that made me not myself
Niggas playin' tricks like David Copperfield
But I'm in a mine field, so I never walked in anybody trail
It’s a dope song. The closing track is entitled Closure, and it’s got another one of the best hooks on the album in my opinion. TreaZon of course killed the verses, and there’s even a dope bridge. The final verse is easily my favorite part of the song. I feel like it really sums up the themes of the album really well. It ties everything together very nicely.
If I had a last word it would be this
Fuck you to them fake niggas that turned out to be bitch
Them rap dudes I was cool with, not concerned with none of that shit
All this fire I was receiving, gotta return that as a gift
I don't got tolerance for incompetence, so I'm cuttin' most of my ties
I just want honesty, but they opposite, and they comfortable with them lies
It's toxicness, miss me with them promises
Here to make my accomplishments and I'm doin' that with no accomplices, and I ride
This is another one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. I like it even more now than I originally did when I first heard it. It’s dope af.
This album is amazing. I wanna call it the best album I’ve heard this year, but it’s gotta be a tie between this, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, and Aethiopes. This is probably the most straightforward album out of the three. I love how it’s just 10 tracks of all killer and no filler. I honestly think this is TreaZon’s best work to date, which is saying a lot because I Shouldn’t Be Alive was an amazing record. There’s not a single track here that I don’t think is dope though. This album gave me exactly what I wanted from TreaZon. Shoutout to Oh Genius too because this album is super well produced. In fact, I’d say it’s probably the best produced project TreaZon has ever put out. I think I read that this was supposed to be his last album, and I kinda hope that isn’t the case just because I love his music so much, but if it is his last record then it’s a great way to go out. I’d much rather have him stop while he’s still dope than fall off and continue his career putting out mediocre music. I just hope to at least still hear some features or something in the future because he’s too talented to not be taking advantage of his own skills. I get the impression that TreaZon has been fucked over by a lot of fake friends in the past just based on the content of this record, and I can relate to that personally, so I really appreciate the lyrical content here. This shit is fire. Check it out, along with Troublesome and I Shouldn’t Be Alive if you haven’t heard those albums. This one is dope af.
Favorite Song: Inferno
Least Favorite Song: You Over Me
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