This album was released on February 26th this year. Blank Thought is a producer from Rhode Island whose name I’d seen floating around Twitter for a while before we actually followed each other. I’d never actually heard any of their production before checking out this album, so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it. However, I was drawn to this project because it has a lot of features from artists I fuck with. I was only familiar with about half of the MCs featured on this album, but that was enough to get me to listen. Thankfully this release didn’t let me down. In fact, it’s a lot better than I was expecting it to be in all honesty.

---

The album begins with a highlight entitled promised things, which features ManDaMyth. This shit is fire. ManDaMyth fucking slaughtered this song. I knew I would like it to some extent because I’m a big fan of ManDaMyth, but he ended up surpassing my expectations by a mile. I genuinely think this is one of the best performances I’ve heard from him. His rhymes and flow were absolutely mesmerizing.

We all look suspicious and a little vicious
Biographies full of misprints, unlisted
The midst of the imprints we finished when
Nobody was around to witness the litmuses
And if your gift gets your wishes consistent
Praise, but if you keep on missin' persistent
Sacrifice means a few missed dishes

I think I misquoted some of those lines, but, as you can see, he went ham and cheese on the rhymes. The production from Blank Thought is very melodic and kind of melancholic sounding. I really dig it. This was a hell of a way to start the album. I think it’s dope as hell. Track 2 is called at your door (life as it is), and it features an artist named Emilio Myles, as well as Bloodmoney Perez. Once again, the melodic, yet dark production here is pretty nice. It sounds like it could be the theme music to one of the dungeons from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I guess it could work with any Zelda game now that I think about it. The Wind Waker is the only Zelda game I’ve ever finished though, so that’s the one I thought of immediately. Anyway, I was really impressed by the opening verse from Emilio Myles. I’d never heard of him prior to checking out this album, but his performance was definitely satisfactory. His flow was smooth as hell. Bloodmoney Perez of course murdered the second verse.

God said "flee," seven layers of death
For all who question what is coming next, resurrect
Toynbee tiles for every step, level 7, peelin' flesh
6 for every time you stole a breath

He goes through all seven of the layers of death throughout his verse, and it’s amazing. That’s definitely one of my favorite verses on the album lyrically. He killed this shit. The song’s really dope overall. It’s followed by a dark world, which features Devo XO & 1TakeJack, as well as an artist named matt mars. This song definitely has my favorite beat up to this point on the album. Once again, it’s very melodic and dark. This one makes me think of Metroid. The opening verse from Devo XO is great.

He stickin' to the plan
Wicked when the stick is in his hand
Catch you slippin' when you kick it with your mans
I was plottin' when I was sittin' in the stands
Treacherous treasure chest, we diggin' in the sand
Had a vision in advance, advanced positions on the battleground
Had to trim the fat and lose some leeches that I had around

He killed this shit honestly. I’m not really crazy about the verse from 1TakeJack, but it’s not bad. I just am not really into that type of flow. He sounds exactly like Lungs. I can only take that sound in small doses personally. The verse is cool though. I don’t dislike it. The final verse from matt mars is pretty good. I’ve seen his name floating around Twitter a lot, but this was my first time actually hearing him rap. I really liked this couplet…

I'm sippin' 80 proof liquor, think I like what I got
I smile wider when I Vicodin pop

Devo XO definitely had my favorite verse, but I’d say they all did a pretty good job here. Overall, I think this song is really dope. The following track is called burning bridges (the downfall), and it features Nonazz as well as an artist with whom I was previously unfamiliar named Jonny Farias. The beat here sounds kind of ethereal, yet dark at the same time. It sounds like a witch’s theme song. It’s not one of my favorite beats on the album, but I definitely like it to some extent. With that said, it’s not the kind of instrumental I would enjoy if there was no one rapping over it. Thankfully Nonazz & Jonny Farias elevated it. I already knew Nonazz’s verse was gonna be dope, so I was a bit more interested in seeing if Jonny Farias would hold his own. He had a lot of really cool lines.

The milieu mirror me, and yet it's next to no reflection
Wrong choices, picks never good, I ain't photogenic
Corroded mental, so you know I'm seldom present
Life a motion picture, squintin' and see my name in the closin' credits

I really fuck with this track. It’s another dope song. Track 5 is called definition, and it’s one of the few tracks that doesn’t feature anyone with whom I was familiar before listening to the album. The verses on this one are performed by Just Thoughts & Alma 16. This song has one of the better instrumentals on the album in my opinion. I actually really love this beat. The first verse from Just Thoughts is great too. He really impressed me here. His flow was mad nice.

When lane changing is painstakingly fate shapin'
I phrase statements the same nature of safe havens
They lay waste in names paved in vain, famous
More than just a difference in the accents
Peace is in the present, but I see 'em livin' past tense
The details are vivid in every frame captured
The bigger picture, I figure it gotta make patterns
The science of it with god's presence creates atoms
The magnitude of great, you just can't take average

His voice sounds really good too. The second verse from Alma 16 is pretty nice as well. This song really grew on me. I liked it at first, but it was one of the weaker tracks to me. I like it way more now though. I think it’s dope. Same goes for the following track, coldest weather (the end), which features NODUO & Matt Draugos. I really dig the dark, tense-sounding production here. The drum pattern is really nice. Nonazz fucking killed the first verse. I love the opening couplet.

Coldest memories in the frozen grass
Tappin' ash from out the bogie that my homie passed

That’s fire. The abstract lyrical content had me hooked. The second verse from Matt Draugos is solid. I’ve heard a couple verses from him, and I’m still not sure how I feel about him honestly. I’m just not crazy about his voice. Same goes for no god. too honestly. I liked both of their verses though. Their flows were nice. Nonazz easily had the best performance on this track though in my opinion. He really stole the show. Overall, it’s another really dope song. It’s followed by a highlight called i wonder what it’s like to die. This was one of the more exciting tracks on the album for me because of the Rap Man Gavin feature. I’ve only heard him on a couple songs in the past, but every time I hear him rap he fucking kills it, and this track was no different. The second verse from TreDoes is really nice too. I’ve only heard a couple verses from him, but from what I’ve listened to I think this is his best work. Take that with a grain of salt though because I haven’t relistened to the first couple verses I heard from him. Anyway, the final verse is performed by an artist named Zim, and it’s pretty good. It’s probably my least favorite verse on the song, but I still like it a lot. The dark production is fire. That’s another one of the reasons I love this song so much. The percussion sounds fantastic. The song is dope as hell. The following track is another highlight called au revoir. This was another exciting song for me because it features Unsung. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve actually heard a verse from him. I’ve heard a lot more production than rapping from him lately, so it was cool to hear him again here. Anyway, this song probably has my favorite beat on the album. It’s really melodic and chill. The first verse on this track is performed by an artist named ToadStool, and it’s actually pretty goddamn great.

Glow vivid, yet flowin' is so rigid
With cold shivers he froze frigid foes 'til they don't fidget

He killed this shit. The second verse is performed by Wesley Rocco, who’s another artist whose name I’ve seen floating around Twitter a lot. His verse was also great. It’s really Unsung that pushes this track to the next level for me though. His flow was absolutely fire. I love it. This song is dope as hell. The penultimate track is called deep sleep, and it features Wesley Rocco, Jonny Farias, and Just Thoughts. This is one of the weaker songs on the album to me, but I don’t think it’s bad. The rapping is great. This song just has my least favorite beat on the album. I don’t mind drumless instrumentals, but this one just feels a little too skeletal. There’s not much going on here. This song is lyrically great, but it just leaves a lot to be desired sonically. It’s decent overall though. The closing song is a bonus track called heart of glass. This is the only song that I think is bad. I’m just not into the featured artist, Nait Sirk, at all. I can’t take his vocals seriously. He sounds really… bad. The beat also isn’t very good to me either. I really don’t like anything about this song. It’s wack to me.

---

^{This is a very good album. I enjoyed most of the beats, and I was honestly surprised by how good most of the features were. I think some more fleshed out song structures could’ve done a lot to make this album feel more complete because as it is it kinda just sounds like a collection of verses rather than full songs. The verses are very good though, so it’s still enjoyable. One thing that I appreciate about this album is that it has a good blend of artists that are new to me and ones that I’m already familiar with. This project introduced me to a lot of talented MCs. The album kinda goes downhill towards the very end, but for the most part this is a super enjoyable listen. I fuck with this shit. It’s dope.}

Favorite Song: promised things
Least Favorite Song: heart of glass

77