Reviewed by Steve Hayes

Across the album, a production theme sees big sounds broken down into minimal beats with some punchy hooks, with deft lyrical rhymes about life and music industry experiences. The Kentucky-based rapper kicks off with the excellent, "The Song" - 'I can only be who I'm created to be', with JustMe on the hook too. "Favorite Rapper" mixes a nice intro with amusing and insightful lyrics with a fan's blind loyalty to an MC. There is a standout, "Low Budget" where JustMe raps and sings on the hook about being a rapper on a low budget, where nevertheless, 'quality is found in the beat and the flow'. The album also mixes in his life insights. In "To The Toppers" we find JustMe feeling misunderstood in his struggles by others who give him little sympathy, but all seem to have greater struggles, 'cos your life sucks way more than mine does.' On this personal theme, "Latenight Lullaby" is a forthright and honest look at his own struggles and dreams of Fatherhood, looking to Jesus. He also mixes in humour, 'If I ever embarrass you in front of your friends, just let me know so I can do it again.' We take a look at life's shallow dreams, with some outstanding rhyme schemes in "Shallow Dreams." Other standouts include "Louder Days" with a lazy but catchy sax riff, "Talk A Good Game" with clever metaphors, "All Works Together" with a Big Rec sample on the hook and the fantastic "Mic It" to end. Quality.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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