This album was released on August 4th this year. In 2020, I reviewed an album by Unsung called Sup Bub, and to this day it’s one of the most unique and memorable records I’ve ever heard. That was a very fun and lighthearted record, which, from what I understand, is actually a departure from the type of music Unsung usually makes. From what I’ve gathered through the features I’ve heard and discussion from other music fans, Unsung is the type of lyricist that’ll have you crying your heart out. Those that know me well know that this type of Hip Hop is right up my alley, so that’s why this was one of my most anticipated albums of the year. I’m fully expecting this to be one of my favorite albums of 2023. The things I’ve heard people like Dan O of FreeMusicEmpire saying about this record lead me to believe that it’s gonna hit home really hard. Every track is self produced, and there are no features. I’m excited to finally give this a listen.

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The album begins with a highlight entitled Crawl Space. Well, it’s hard to call it a highlight because literally every track on the album could be considered a highlight. There’s not a single track here that doesn’t really stand out in some way. This was a really great way to start the project off though. The somber vocal loop that initiates the track really sets the tone for the rest of the album. I love it. The opening verse from Unsung is great, but the song just gets even better when the beat switches up and his flow gets more intricate. I don’t know what’s more enjoyable to me between the production and the actual rapping.

I was never gonna be the center of my own universe
Never gonna feel at home in a size smaller shirt
Heaven only knows me by my baby pictures anyway
Grinning with a gritted set of teeth that move my tongue away

The instrumental here is gorgeous, and Unsung’s passionate vocal delivery fits over it perfectly. This song grew on me even more after multiple listens. I think it’s a perfect way to start the album. It’s dope as fuck. I love the audio clip he used for the outro too. The following track is called The Box in a Valise, and it might be my favorite song on the album. This is the one track that I immediately went back to once the album ended on my first listen. I think the production here is absolutely incredible. This is a top 5 beat of the year for me. I don’t know. I’d have to think about what the other contenders are. This would definitely be up there though. I adore this instrumental. The way the percussion comes in after about 65 seconds into the song is fucking amazing. Unsung’s writing is beautiful here too.

Smoke in the air like my daddy's soul
I only write these words that I think I know
And when I put the pieces in a fold out letter
If the coffins there and I should be better
But the feeling's always and the feeling's never
And I'm not surprised, but I'm not that clever
To be honest I would never see a ghost
And sometimes that hurts, but that's the way it goes
I only wear three shirts, that's the way it goes
I only wear my wallet in the back pocket of my slacks
And when I'm talkin' slacks I'm probably meaning jeans
I seem to get caught up in unimportant things

Everything about this song is perfect to me. Even the kind of longwinded, ambient intro feels like it has a worthwhile payoff. I fucking love this song. I think it’s incredible. The following track is yet another highlight called Odysseus Recovers His House. The beat kinda sounds like something that I’d hear in an N64 game. It reminds me of the Super Mario 64 soundtrack. I mean that in a good way just to be clear. Unsung’s poetic lyricism here had me hooked.

I don't wanna leave you on the shore of this daydream obelisk
Black sand cropping up and tides turn ominous
Death dressed in moon beams, mistakes me for a part of this
I painted all my skin with the wind for this partnership
Sober when slobbering, convulsive and bothersome
My bloods steeps in cardamom, pods in a spacecraft
And I have my escape route when time pass
And burrow in the belly of the beast, sleeping, tall grass, a dry laugh

The way the beat eventually kinda switches up is awesome, and Unsung killed the verse on that part. I love how relatively aggressive he sounds. His performance here is really impressive. This is another track that really grew on me heavily. I love the production, and Unsung’s lyricism was superb. The song’s boiling hot fire. Track 4 is called Messages, and it’s got another one of my favorite instrumentals on the album. The percussion on this song is absolutely wonderful. As always, Unsung’s writing here is really great.

Throw up, hoping that you wake up
Frozen as a cake from the last choked up birthday, you woke up
Face stuck frozen as the past that you're made of
Smoke in the air, no chance to repair
Or inhale, just let go, it's a fist to the bone
Where it broke and the cash just reminds you of hope
But no growth ever happens and your leg starts to limp
And the fracture is stiff in the rain and the wind
And a terror as real as mortality creeps
And I try to walk home, but I'm swept from my feet

The lyricism here is breathtaking to me. I think this song is beautifully written. It’s dope as hell. Track 5 is called Sunset as Wallpaper, and it’s the shortest song on the album. Unsung’s vocals at the beginning of this track sound really good to me, and I love the mellow production. Once again, the percussion really stood out to me a lot. I love the drums here.

All hail this drowning prince
Who holds weight with words like sinking ships
And praise high when raised the mighty fist
That turns rocks to dust and grains to grist

I can see how some listeners may find the song a little slow and uneventful if you’re not the type of person that really pays attention to lyrics. However, as someone who places a lot of value in that particular aspect of songwriting, I really enjoyed this track. It didn’t blow me away like most of the other tracks, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it’s dope. The following track is called Geode, and it has a beautiful piano-driven instrumental that I really love. It sounds like Heaven in the form of music. I really enjoy the rapping from Unsung on this track, and the hook is very memorable to me. The way the tone of the instrumental kinda shifts around the halfway point is really cool too. Honestly, the more I listen to this track, the more I love it. The instrumental is absolutely gorgeous, and Unsung sounds great over it. This shit is fire. It’s followed by Allegheny Wake. Once again, the fucking drums really stood out to me here. They sound excellent. The other aspects of the beat are cool, but honestly if the drums weren’t as good as they are then I don’t know if I’d enjoy this instrumental that much. The main aspect of this song that keeps me interested is just the lyricism from Unsung.

I was made by accident in '81
The summer heat devoured colors reaching out its palms and thumbs
And stifled growth and smothered Steven
Carving features soon to spring uneven traits
And tendencies that weave themselves inside of me

I think what Unsung is able to do with the English language on this track is beautiful. I mean, I could say that about the album in general. This one really stands out though. I love it. The following track is called The Unmasking, and it’s a fire song. I absolutely love the somber, melodic instrumental here. Unsung’s lyricism fits over it perfectly too. I don’t know what’s cooler between the production and the rapping.

I write in different styles, but the language stays the same
While the Night drives different miles, and the Morning takes the blame
I took the reigns at the beginning begging someone else to steer
To abyss in hopes some lightning might illuminate the path
A fear of growing into skin with slits as eyeholes
Slate and gray heart and stoic, easygoing signals
I'm afraid of lacking wisdom, perfect to display a visage
Not easy to maintain the mission
Skips into a pizza perfect symphony of heartbreak

I think I misquoted some of those lines, but you get the idea. His writing here is phenomenal. I love it. The production is really goddamn nice too. I think this song’s fire. The following track is another highlight entitled Divisions of Time. This song has a relatively uptempo, energetic instrumental. It’s one of the more exciting tracks on the album as a result because it kinda forces Unsung to spit with a more aggressive delivery.

Hope tomorrow brings another bridge to burn, the weather's looking promising
But sometimes "promise" is a backstabbing pain, your own blade
It don't get sheathed, it just stays

I’d be lying if I said I’ve fully deciphered what all the lyrics are about. This is the type of album that’s gonna be rewarding to relisten to because I can tell I’m gonna be catching different meanings and lines every time I hear it. Anyway, this song is fiya. I think I enjoyed it slightly more on my first listen of the album, but I still love it. The penultimate track is a major highlight entitled James Miller Names the Planets. This is probably the most emotionally moving song on the album in my opinion.

What will I be if I could just uncork and redirect
Or motivate the stiffness to be loosened into drying sand?
I write to you, and though it's hidden means no disrespect
This gesture from myself to you beneath the land
I never wanted Summer to end
And all the hot rain smells like crayons
Get the first birds fed, on my shoulder that's been cried on
Eroded 'til time's gone, and now it just feels like it's time for bed

A valid dream of you and misinterpret meaning
A congregation with its flock that's missing limbs
We're both dragging ourselves towards nothing
Somehow understand it's only us that's really him
I try to nourish you, force a habit down
My hands that don't know better, seeking praise of something else
Shelves aligned with plates you bought and hid beneath your bed
Along with coins you never spent, but saved them all since I was twelve

I scratch from writing all the same songs from paper thin emotions
While forming to a painted mask
I wear the mask when I'm alone and paint the cabinets to look the same
They've always looked aloof and comfort me to task
Please don't try this at home
They'll see the bloated swollen rotted wood that you've been calling your throne
And all the papers you've saved, and your face that need shaved
And in the morning they can tell you've been dissolving alone
I see the window from the garden like it's '88
Spent the Summer digging in your heart like it was made from clay
Camping in the valley under skies that never darkened gray
I felt like trading places, but the title screen will just say…

This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. The saxophone solo at the end of the track is just the icing on the cake. The real selling point of this track is the unbelievably heartfelt and poetic writing. Fuck me. It’s gonna be hard to choose a favorite track from this album. This shit is incredible. The closing track is another major highlight entitled Mirage.

He dropped this as the lead single ahead of the album’s full release, but I chose not to listen to it outside of the context of the full record. This is easily one of my favorite songs on the album though. Fuck, man. This might be the best track on the project. The dark production is incredible, and Unsung’s rapping is spectacular.

You with me? Doppelgänger dipped in the night
One set of footprints, left heel drags, pulls the vines out
Picture this silhouette, well defined
It leaves no shadow to slap across the ground, just spills the lines out

There’s really not a single aspect of this song that I don’t like. This shit really blew me away. It’s probably the most complete and well rounded song on the album. It’s definitely a top three track for me on the record. I think it’s incredible, and easily one of my favorite songs of the year.

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^{This album gave me exactly what I was hoping for and expecting. I feel like I enjoy this album for the same reasons that I enjoy a lot of Sadistik’s best work; it’s beautifully written and emotionally vulnerable. Also, the production is stunning. This is honestly a top 5 album of the year for me. I was hooked by everything Unsung had to say, and I loved the instrumentals. I won’t be surprised if this album grows on me even more with future listens. This is exactly the type of shit I love. This shit is right up my alley. I don’t have any major or consistent gripes with this project. I think Unsung knocked this project outta the park. I can’t praise it enough. Definitely check this shit out if you haven’t yet. The lyricism is magnificent, and the production is fantastic. I live for this shit. This album is dope as fuck.}

Favorite Song: James Miller Names the Planets
Least Favorite Song: Sunset As Wallpaper

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