5 out of 5

Produced by: Ganzobean

Label: Not on label (self-released)

I’m hardly a hip-hop connoisseur, but I think I value those records that provide similar pros to my favorite other-genre albums: that (ideally) each song offers something of value.  This can be a harder sell in rap, where the variables are often limited to a beat and someone, essentially, talking.  But just as some dudes can wring much out of a few guitar notes, some hip-hop artists can strip the sound down and do just fine; oppositely, bells and whistles can amount to only distraction.

The Awful Truth is a very rich and varied album.  Our leads share the mic skills pretty equally, guest stars are used tastefully (and actually contribute to their tracks), and the production – while mostly sticking to slick beats – is amazing, each track offering a unique hook or sample that gets it stuck in your head before the lyrics even begin.  It’s one of those discs that manages to balance a lot of tricky elements very casually; Abstract Rude and Musab both touch upon race and relationships and sprinkle it with the usual props, but nothing reeks of struggle _or_ suggests any clear evidence of a label-less album.  As far as I’m concerned, everything on here is a single.  Ganzobeen’s work (Orikal Uno produced the title track) slips through applicable samples which are synced to devastatingly catchy beats, all as crystal clear as Rude and Sab’s sing-song delivery.  Even the guest stars seem to up their game: both Atmos and Blueprint come equipped with their usual charm, but matched to Awful Truth’s focus, their rhymes sound fresher than ever, stripped of clutter.

So, ya know, not a connoisseur, but I know what I like.