“Carpe Diem, that’s how you say ‘seize the day'” – Ab-Soul

There are not many times when something comes out of left field and hits me to the point where I am shocked, but it happened and I’m at fault for not following up with the lead earlier – like a year earlier. Monty C. Benjamin is an artist that you need to familiarize yourself with this year and if you need an album to start with, I would greatly suggest this one. When you take advantage of the position that you’re in as an underdog or just lesser known, you have a great opportunity to turn some heads with the quality of music that you can drop. From literally the First song till the very end, it was nonstop head nodding and face scrunching. That’s not fair. That’s not fair at all, but that’s what I love the most about this album and the fact that it was able to smack me in the face with the rudest wake up call.

Not to throw out any comparisons, but GoldLink was the name that I just thought about in terms of who sparked an energy in me that made me proud to listen to their music. What I like about this album is that there’s a healthy blend of production, lyricism with storytelling, and flows across the board to keep the listener (being me in this instance) entertained throughout. I pulled up First, Bounce, and Vice City multiple times over; all gave me the feeling that I love the most when it comes to music – that sense of passion that is organic and doesn’t try its best to force a feeling. You more often than not tell what artists are trying to go for when they put out music and they try to reach for a specific sound to capture a feeling, and that’s why cookie cutter music exists. There are the gems that stay in their lane and don’t feel the urgency to deviate just to pick up some ears. Now, I have to go check the rest of Monty’s catalogue, but this is a hell of a start if there ever was one, and that’s why I’m definitely urging the push for people to listen to this and keep it locked in their minds that this guy could be going places off the strength of this project alone. Another important thing to remember is that music has no expiration date and the Internet (as we know it right now) is forever. You can find great shit by looking, but sometimes they happen to fall in your lap – or email Inbox.

That’s My Word & It STiXX