Hailing from Houston, Texas, young rapper Jace releases his first album titled "Enlightenment" which focuses on gaining wisdom on various aspects of life and finding himself as an artist. The album takes off with the track "Time Out" which begins with the heavy sounds of trumpets reminiscence of the early days of Mannie Fresh. Opening up with lines like "While you were rapping out your ass/ I was rapping my ass off" Jace makes it very clear he is coming for the heads of his competition. Singer Tiaramy brings the song full circle with a strong voice that doesn't clash with the presence of Jace or his production. After a strong opening there is a swift transition to "The Life" which pays homage to Jay-Z's "Allure" backed by the screwed ad-libs of being "throwed". The transition works surprisingly, bringing the listener from hype sounds of cutthroat delivery and grand trumpets to a Big KRIT "Me and My Old School" feel with lush instrumentation and a wonderful blues guitar. Lyrically the songs taps into Jace experience of being high on both his life as well as Mary Jane. On the third track "End Crowd" Jace channels his inner Wayne crooning a chorus that's catchy and rides the beat well. This track touches on the chase to be the best, while imperfect as an individual, and in his second verse Jace proves that he can be a problem when tested.
"Stronger" which is definitely one of the best tracks on the project uses a sample that seems to come from Amy Winehouse that fits perfectly over the piano. Jace's passionate and brash delivery tackles growing up without a father, but takes a different route than most artist. "Stronger" actually focuses more on how Jace's history with his father has influenced not only his upbringing, but his direct desire to portray a more positive outlook on his father in perspective to his own family. The song closes in excellent fashion with a cut from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" when Will's father leaves out of his life once again. "Potential" and "One day" take an anticlimactic turn for a softer sound which focuses more on lyrical ability than production. As "Potential" comes off as a ballad or ode to the hard knock life, "One Day" aims to inspire and uplift. Lee Lonn sings of his dreams of "One day being in that Benzo" as Jace raps of his continuous pursuit of stardom and wealth. "One Day" could potentially be a well received commercial single if promoted on a mainstream platform.
"Loving You" is certainly for the ladies all the way through, from the title, chorus, and verse this song is an expression of love for the special lady in Jace's life. The only downside to this track is Jack Freeman's amazing voice takes away from the verse Jace has to deliver, the song nearly sounds like Jack Freeman featuring Jace rather than the other way around. "Fear" is another strong track where the rapper speaks on social issues and life in the streets. This track seems to sprout from the life experiences that are directly intertwined with "Stronger", and almost comes off as a sequel to show cause and effect. "Regrets" sadly is one of the weaker songs on the project, it takes away from the tone set by "Fear" which is dark, yet insightful. After a few listens to the track individually it seems to suffer from lackluster production, it sounds decent, but does not build towards any emotion or climax. The final track "Before I Wake" is a solid final track that brings in the feeling of being "enlightened" and providing Jace with his own closure. The production is once again lush, and soothing and rounded out by more guitar.
Final Verdict: Overall this album is a solid start for a growing artist and provides hope for conceptualization and lyricism that lacks in most southern rap artist today. There is still some growing to do when it comes to creating choruses and getting down his delivery for Jace unfortunately. There are a few verses that come off choppy and inconsistent, and there are a couple choruses that have more going on than needed ("End Crowd" for example). With a good mentor and steady production Jace can grow into a solid mainstream artist.
Recommended Tracks: "End Crowd" , "Stronger", "One Day" , "Fear"
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Beats: 7.5/10
Lyrics: 7/10
Creativity: 8/10
Originality: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.5
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