Reviewed by Steve Hayes

Houston's Dre Murray on Collision Records brings a production monster with this set. The lead track featuring Christon Gray starts with a deceptively choral intro before exploding with a monster beat. Dre's flow is varied from the rolling, crystal clear flows on the challenging "Alchemy" through his grooving flows on the live sounding and tuneful "Letter In A Bottle" with the vocals of Michael Guaglione, as Dre looks at issues of life and loneliness as the emcee fights his emotions. This is an album filled with spiritual concepts and life lessons welded to differing hip-hop expressions. One example is "Pharoah" with its sub-bass minimalism as Dre confronts the emptiness of Pharoah's (and other people's) chasing of riches. Then again, "Welcome To My Life" featuring Alex Faith and Swoope brings another sub-bass-banger, the guest vocals and verses carrying the repetitive beat. "All Alone" is one of a couple of poignant tracks where harmonic vocals sit alongside a smooth flow as Dre tells powerful stories. An impressive album which rewards repeated listening.

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