It’s funny that the first person who told me that I should start doing music reviews more frequently hasn’t had a post on my site – until now. Jaek DeLarge, I had the pleasure of meeting through a mutual friend (another rapper) a few years ago, and I had checked out his music; it’s not terrible, but it wasn’t the best I’d heard of what’s out here in the city of Toronto, where 1 out of 5 people you meet are somehow affiliated with the music business. I decided to give this album a listen, and to see how Jaek has grown (or not) since I last heard some of his stuff – it’s evident that he has grown.

          The album overall deals with the personal story of how Jaek to being an artist (common tale of every come up rapper), but the way that he approaches the album is with a smooth flow all the way around. Right off the bat with Goodmornin, you can hear the Curren$y flow & production emphasis that follows it. It was a good starting point to get you into the album. His style overall reminds me of Casey Veggies, and there are many people who would probably look at that as a diss, but Casey does have some gems in his catalog whether you agree or not. The production was consistent for the most part, although when some beats sounded lackluster, Jaek brought them to life (Break of Dawn is one the best beats on the album – great song too). I like that this album wasn’t strictly your average album that people just throw together and put out. I can tell that there was significant time that was spent on this and the effort is evident. It’s smooth, and at times feels luxurious, but the subject content are topics that anyone and everyone could and should relate to. The creativity that was brought onto the album was impressive as well. Secrets with the ‘Are You That Somebody’ sample is just too smooth, and I think that it shows flashes that he can take the next step and be something bigger if that’s the path he wants to take.

         Toronto artists seem to be getting better with how they make songs , mixtapes, and albums in general. There are still hit & misses, but I sense an improvement, because with so many eyes focused on Toronto, they know that they have to step their game up. Being lazy and half-assed won’t get them anywhere, and this is just one example of a project that isn’t half-assed. It’s not perfect, but it’s not terrible at all. I think that people can appreciate this if they like to be zoned out and just appreciate down-to-Earth music. Jaek did a good job on this one. Much respect and to him and hopes as well for continued growth and success. Check out the album and Follow him on Twitter @JaekDelarge.

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That’s My Word & It STiXX