I’m on Twitter a lot. I’ve been an active user since 2009, and honestly, where I know that it’s easy to be addicted to social media, it’s more so the interactions that I seek the most rather than indulging in the rabbit hole that can be the worst the Internet has to offer, but really it’s just a microcosm of what the entirety has to offer. I was giving praise to J.I.D because his album, The Never Story, is one of the best albums to come out this year. I may say the same in December too, but Dreamville really has the Rookie of the Year until further notice. That being said, I was flooded with a bunch of suggestions on who else to listen to, and I think that’s the best thing about Twitter that I’ve come to appreciate in my almost 8 years of using the site/app. I’ve been put onto many artists that I don’t know how else I would have come across otherwise, and that’s a good chunk of the percentage of my iTunes library currently.

@MR_STiXX Give Smino a listen…album called blkswn

— aris aris aris (@sirariston) May 7, 2017

It took me about a week to remember to listen to the album, but I’m glad that I finally came around to doing so, because jah knows I would have slacked and put it off for another couple of months. But thankfully, music doesn’t have an expiry date (which many people still don’t understand, but that’s just where we are in the world right now).

I went into this album with no expectations, but with a couple of other people chiming in to say that they messed with the album, it was a good thing to keep in mind although my opinion isn’t always swayed by what others think, because I have been led astray too many times (it happens to all of us). The mellow-melodic sound seems to be the popular way to go, but I understand why it’s so popular because there are artists who are able to work within their skills and really bring their sounds to life. Wild Irish Roses to set the mood right was the right move, because there’s a healthy bounce & groove that transitions itself right throughout the album.

As I progressed through this fantastic album that is filled with smooth production and well-crafted songs with free-flowing softened emotions, Smino could be put in a category with the likes of J.I.D & GoldLink, both of whom had a couple of my favourite projects this year. All of them have similar approaches in which their express their tales of troubled love and in each way, they’re unique to the point where you can’t draw comparisons (unless of course, you just go off my random ass theory here – it’s fine). Glass Flows is such a beautiful song that I didn’t think I needed in my life, but here’s Buzzfeed to give you 21 reasons (why are they like this?).

“Feelin’ like any nigga in the room can be the guy
Feelin’ like every bitch I bone a skeleton of mine
Prolly why I felt insecure that one night out Chi
Ca I go back in time, can I Michael J. Fox?
Prolly call up Lil’ Bari and turn Delorean to hotbox”

This is a consistent album in theme and in sound and I was happy to take the recommendation from the people from the Twitter (the album cover is flames too, come on). There are as many good projects as there are bad, but everything depends on what you seek. If you only look for what’s on the surface level, you’ll always be disappointed. That’s why having a diverse range of people to bounce off suggestions your way, can impact your music palette for the better. Off of the first 3 songs, I bought the album, and I wasn’t disappointed then, and I’m not now, so for your consideration, take it in. This is my opinion, this is my review,

That’s My Word & It STiXX