Reviewed by Eric Saeger
Downtrodden hoodie-honky chill-rap of the quality familiar to Rhymesayers repeat customers. The Seattle-based 27-year-old isn’t in either the physical or lyrical weight class to fight his way through these ghetto survival issues, but he’s elegantly eloquent about them, curling his squishy-soft baritone around ‘Falling From You’ when it’s time to get emo, playing the wizened Snoop when it’s time to flash through life-to-now, a blur of baseball cards, beers, double-shifts and shots at the indie-rap title (‘Light Speed’). There’s dabbling in Britney-pop in ‘On the Rocks’ and Marvin Gaye vibe used in album closer ‘Against the Bottom’, but there’s also a harsh psychedelic freakout of mashed rock sounds in ‘Speak Easy’ – obviously the aim here is not to wow rhyme addicts but provide food for thought on the subway ride home. Toward all that, wheels are not reinvented, but at least he doesn’t call in reinforcements until a spot from Brother Ali in ‘Tragic’.
Grade: B
