This album was released on May 5th this year. Anwar HighSign is an artist I’ve been aware of for years, but I didn’t start listening to his music really until like 2019. I still need to go back and listen to most of the shit he dropped as Has-Lo. I think the first project I heard from him was his collaborative album with Castle, Live Like You’re Dead, which was very good. I covered his Fleece EP in 2020, and I really enjoyed it, and the Live N*gga Prophecy EP is really good as well. I have yet to hear a project from him that I don’t like, so I’ll be pretty surprised if there aren’t any tracks that I fuck with on this latest album. On the other hand, Giallo Point is an artist that I have slightly less experience with. I have enjoyed the work he’s done with artists like Vinnie Paz & Napoleon da Legend though. With that said, I don’t think I’ve heard enough of his production to get a good idea of what most of his beats sound like. I just know this is probably gonna be some boom bap shit. Anyway, I haven’t really seen anyone talking about this album, but I think it just got overshadowed by billy woods & Conway the Machine since they all released on the same day. I’m expecting this to be somewhere in between those two albums in terms of quality. Hopefully, I’m not let down. Oh, by the way, I just wanna point out how good Anwar HighSign’s verse on Atmosphere’s WORD? album was. He killed that shit. Alright, let’s get into this album…

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The album begins with Landlord, which has a really awesome, gritty boom bap beat. Anwar sounds great over it. The first verse is really good.

You could be a bank robber, a bank teller
You could be a bush dweller, a good fella
Thank no one, I ain't had one vote yet
God or the Devil, they both call collect

I mainly enjoy this for his flow and vocal delivery. His kind of monotone performance sounds really good over this instrumental. I also really like the hook on this track. I just really fuck with this song sonically. This is how I like my Hip Hop to sound. There’s nothing trendy or poppy about it. I think this song is dope. The following track is even better. It’s called That’s Regular, and it’s one of my favorite songs on the album. The production is pretty amazing honestly. I feel like Raekwon would sound awesome over this beat. In fact, the tone of Anwar’s voice actually kinda reminds me of Raekwon here. There’s a line in the hook about how the first shot of Hennessy that he ever had was warm, and that sounds absolutely vile. The first verse is pretty damn nice. The lines about his father were really interesting. Once again, his flow and vocal delivery sound really good. The hook really grew on me. I actually think it sounds awesome over this beat. This is one of my favorite songs on the album, and a lot of it has to do with the piano driven production. This shit just sounds really great. I think the song’s dope as hell. Track 3 is called Cold Plan. Once again, I really fuck with the production. The piano loop sounds really fucking good. Lyrically, this is probably my favorite song up to this point on the album.

I was under anesthesia, planet leaver
Deep in the goat's nest, re-enter the ether

I liked the lines about how he thinks Nas is the greatest of all time. I do too. I don’t think he has the best discography ever, but when you look at his career highlights and longevity he’s definitely up there. He’s accomplished a lot. To me there’s a difference between best rapper of all time and greatest rapper of all time. The only other artist I think you could argue for is Jay-Z. Anyway, this song has a really straightforward structure, but I still fuck with it. The beat is really nice, and Anwar sounds great over it. The song’s dope. It’s followed by a highlight entitled Sun Gone Shine. This song has one of my favorite instrumentals on the album. It’s really fantastic. In terms of lyrical content, this is my favorite song up to this point on the record.

In the place I consider my trap
Where my earth won't leave, and the brotherhood died
And the white bitch spit in my face the one time
And I ain't know how to react
The flatfoots ain't tryna intervene on your behalf
Ain't the same for you when your skin look like that
It's like brass, and bad blood don't freeze
That's why it feel hotter in the E
Sun gon' shine

The hook is really… Hmmm… What word should I use to describe it? Lemme think… It’s really placid and lowkey. I love it. The second verse is even better than the first one in my opinion.

Another time, I feel past my prime
Throw your blame on me, tryna smash my pride
You can bend most things into shapes, you'll prove the truth
That was your move, you got us confused
I ain't into spreadin' rumors, I'm more about June
And findin' more grounds to break, relate to us
All those who veins run cold like me
Know you gotta work through it like grief
Sun gon' shine

I definitely misquoted some of those lines, but I tried my best to transcribe them accurately. I’m glad he came back in for a third verse. There’s really nothing I dislike about this track. The production is fire, and Anwar sounds amazing over it. The song’s dope as hell. It’s followed by another highlight called God Tier. Once again, I was really captivated by Giallo Point’s production. The piercing piano keys sound really awesome. I think this song has some of the best rapping on the album. Anwar’s vocal delivery is still pretty chill and monotone, but it sounds aggressive at the same time somehow. I know that’s paradoxical. Maybe the aggression I’m sensing comes more from the lyricism and flow than the actual vocal delivery.

The crooks have honor all the sudden
Before you was ballin' when I wasn't
Nigga, you little to me, even if you taller
Forged of a basehead's genes
I'm a case study for the trauma, verse carver
I used to trust cops 'til a cop blurped on us
Same story, came for me
Ain't warn me, and he aimed on me
I ain't got a chance with a jury
I ain't got a chain or some jewelry
Had to find a way to shine otherwise
Waitin' on the sun to rise
Judge how I deal with, and got dealt
Felt how I felt, now I never let nothin' slide, y'all
My life been a permanent night
Landlocked on the edge, is it worth it to fight?
Threw his deck out and told Death "crack another"
Thought that all we got is us, we ain't even have each other
Pain is your only real friend when you suffer
The one who know you the best and won't judge you
Won't leave you, foul 'til you most lethal
But you never gotta guess where you stand, won't see you

Again, I definitely misquoted some of those bars. “Blurped” is not a real word, but that’s what it sounded like he said. Anyway, this is definitely a contender for my favorite song on the album. I love the production, and Anwar’s rapping is great over it. I really appreciate the straightforward structure of this song too. It’s dope as hell. The following track is entitled Mirror. This is one of the most energetic songs on the album. The production is pretty loud and hard-hitting. Once again, Anwar HighSign sounds phenomenal here. The 2Pac references in the first verse are dope.

My ex was the only thing keeping me sane
And I miss her in a way that's hard to even explain
So my attitude with all the shit we gotta jack
Is you gotta handle that with the homie in the mirror, I hear ya
Put the butter on toast
Don't cook a rabbit or fuck Glenn Close
Approach, it's coming on your right, hold tight
War is on the kite, I'm in need of some advice

There’s not really a hook on this track. The verses are divided by some pitch-shifted speech. I think I liked this song more on my first listen of the project than I do now, but I still really fuck with it. It’s a dope song. It’s followed by another highlight called Diminished Spirit. This might be the best song on the album. I love the simplicity of the production. It’s just a really melodic loop with no percussion. Anwar’s flow on this track is relatively fast-paced and bouncy too. As much as I love the other beats on this album, I just think Anwar sounds really good over drumless production. This is kind of a short song, so there’s only time for one verse. It’s great though.

I'm Bruce Lee, "be agua," soul cooked like meat, pasta
Heard Will say, "lay a brick, then another brick 'til you gotta walk"
Fake friend gon' say he ridin' 'til drama come and he not involved
He not involved, tryna tell me how to run a play, you ain't never even shot a ball
Not a flaw, let you tell it, never lost, let you tell it
Gangrene in my right hand, only option to chop it off
Profit off your own work or another man gon' take it

Again, this is one of my favorite tracks on the record. I love this style. Anwar killed it. The song’s dope as hell. Track 8 is called Naturelle. I really love the lyrical content here. I mean, I think I would dislike it if a lot of rappers tried to do a song like this, but Anwar was able to execute it well.

I heard you goin' over poetry
I walk beside you, and quietly admire 'til you notice me
Laughin', my sense of humor get reaction
She ask, "how I always see you in passin'? We ain't got no classes"
I'm too shy to voice my attraction
To you, told you like ten years after
A chance encounter, then boom, we connect
Reinvent the chapter

The lyricism is definitely the main appeal of this track for me. The production is cool, but it doesn’t stand out as much as a lot of the other beats. With that said, I think it fits the lyrical content of this song really well. The slightly melodic hook isn’t anything special to me, but it serves its purpose as a break between the verses well. I wouldn’t call this a highlight on the album for me, but I really love the lyricism here. I think the song’s dope. The penultimate track is called Omaha. This was one of the more exciting songs in the tracklist for me because it features Henny L.O. of Mutant Academy. The relatively uptempo production is really nice, and I like Anwar’s flow over it a lot. His vocal delivery feels relatively fiery too. I guess he decided to be a bit more aggressive vocally since he’s on a track with another MC who’s less reserved than him. Henny L.O. killed this shit. His flow is really nice, and he sounds great over this beat. I don’t know who had the better performance on this track. They both sound fantastic here. This is another one of my favorite songs on the album. It grew on me with repeat listens. The record scratches at the end of the song were a nice touch. I think this shit is dope as hell. The closing song is one last highlight entitled Wee-Bay Face. I really love this beat. It kinda sounds ominous, yet not super gritty. The drums are really light, kinda like something Roc Marciano would rhyme over. Lyrically, this is definitely my favorite song on the album. The bars had me hooked.

I got empathy for them
I see how it must feel empty in your skin
I could never let you have my energy again
Enter my inner vision with injury intent
Intuition is a great thing, they say, king
Nothing that was synthetic could censor me within
G codes
Told her I'm a freak, but I'm not a creep, yo
We could do it all, you can't pee on me though
Don't forget, cop the Fleece EP

He killed this track. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. I think it’s dope as hell.

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^{This album is really great. It’s actually better than I was expecting it to be honestly. This is actually the best project I’ve ever heard from Anwar HighSign. There’s not a single track here that I don’t think is great. I still need to go back and check out his debut album as Has-Lo, but for now this is my favorite project from him. These are the best beats I’ve heard from Giallo Point, and Anwar sounds fantastic over them. I feel like his monotone, reserved delivery is probably an acquired taste, but I personally love it. I think it fits over these beats really well, and the lyricism helped to keep me engaged. This is honestly one of the better albums I’ve heard so far in 2023. I’m totally satisfied with this release. It’ll be interesting to see what Anwar does next. I feel like people are sleeping on him because I haven’t seen much discussion around this project. It’s definitely worth listening to though. Check it out and let me know what you think. I think it’s dope as hell.}

Favorite Song: Diminished Spirit
Least Favorite Song: Cold Plan

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