Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Following on from their 2015 'Beautiful Noise' collaboration, Michigan-based emcee Sareem Poems and producer Shondell Brandon (aka Ess Be) have once again teamed up for an album that combines the former's trademark deft wordplay and the latter's penchant for club beats to good effect. Setting the scene for an album full of lyrical purpose, the autobiographical opener "Simply Truthfully" sees Poems embrace the person God has created him to be whilst "What's Wrong" finds the rapper seeking forgiveness. Elsewhere, deep issues such as injustice and prejudice are covered in the likes of the synth-laden "Dance For The Dead" and the boom bap expose "The Way It Goes" before the spoken word "I See You" has a neat twist halfway through that portrays Poems' lyrical genius. Ess Be's heavy grooves and his associate's baritone delivery means that there are hardly any lighter moments but scattered cameos from the likes of Sean C Johnson, Al Singleton and Dre Murray do add a bit of variety. An instrumental version of the album is tagged onto the end of this thought-provoking and confident release.

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