Maryland emcee/producer K.A.A.N. reuniting with Aftermath Entertainment in-house producer Dem Jointz for his 24th full-length studio LP. This guy’s been making a name for himself in the underground over the course of the past decade by delivering standouts in his ever-growing discography like Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due, Mission Hillz or recently The Death of a Rapper & The Nightly News both produced by former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. Seven. But after being teasing Peace of Minds since September, it’s only right for the Maryland lyricist & the Compton producer to link back up to start the 2nd month of the new year.

After the “Wake Up” intro, the first song “Corner Store” is a 2-part trap opener talking about how they wanna see him fall whereas “A.S.C. (Ain’t Shit Changed)” keeps the hi-hats in tact making it known that things are still the same with him. “Living n Fear” has a groovier vibe to it explaining that his whole house on fire prior to “Destination” shifts into boom bap territory talking about what you get when you follow false prophets.

“Dying Breed” goes into a drumless direction likening himself to a group of people that’re slowly fading away as time goes on leading into “Hurry” bringing the kicks & snares back into the picture manically getting in his hardcore bag lyrically. “Basque” is an organ boom bap hybrid produced by Black Milk asking what the fuck he’s gotta do to prove who’s who, but then “Prize” aims to keep his eyes on the finish line over more trap production.

To start the 2nd half of the album, “Designer Drug” goes into a psychedelic direction admitting that he went down the rabbit hole for all the wrong reasons just before the atmospheric “Smoking Section” slides through for an anthem dedicated to the smokers out there. “F.Y.F. (Fuck Yo Feelings) says it all conceptually over a dusty instrumental while the rock-inspired “Past That” talks about moving on from the bullshit.

“Footsteps of Greatness” begins the encore of the LP by speaking from experience on top of an unsettling & lastly, “Katch Up” closes out Peace of Mind by hooking up this delicate back drop with some hi-hats thanks to fellow Aftermath in-house producer Focus… so K.A.A.N. can get into his shit-talking bag 1 last time talking about all the ways that people be envying him ever since his career took off really.

Mission Hillz was more trap-based unlike both Black Blood & Pure Intentions, so it doesn’t really surprise me to hear that Peace of Minds continues to expand on the sounds of the previous LP that K.A.A.N. & Dem Jointz did with one another. The latter’s production continues to show progression over the last 7 years of working together dabbling with psychedelia, boom bap, drumless & a hint of rock suiting the Maryland emcee’s potent topics.

Score: 9/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

This is the 20th full-length album from Maryland emcee K.A.A.N., who’s already made himself well established in less than a decade. Some of the standouts in his ever-growing discography include the Dem Jointz-produced Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due. He’s coming fresh off 4 albums as well as the fact that it’s been over 2 years since the prelude EP Mission to Mission Hillz, K.A.A.N. is re-enlisting the Aftermath Entertainment in-house producer to take us down Mission Hillz.

“Falling Trees” is a cloudy trap opener talking about how the journey’s been a Jungle whereas “Way Out There” goes into a more vibrant route saying he just wants to ball all day. “Flatline” keeps it rolling with a celebratory banger about feeling like he’ll never go down, but then “Timing” takes a darker turn to address those who can’t comprehend what he’s accomplished.

Meanwhile on “U.F.W. (Unfuckwitable)”, we have K.A.A.N. on top of a flute sample attacking those who want to step up to him lyrically leading into the spacious trap cut “Patience” talking about never quitting. “Emergency” incorporates some stellar horn sections to show his hunger for the paper just before “Free Fall” savagely calls out those who started fucking with him now that he’s big.

“Greatness” comes through with a cavernous banger talking about how ill he is while “Show Them” works in a more stripped back instrumental advising to watch how he gets his paper to build. “I See” bombastically advises his competition to fall back prior to “Captured” bringing the flutes back in talking about seeing the shit as a nightmare.

The song “2 Much” incorporates an organ telling his opposition to take a break while the penultimate track “Matter Fact” hypnotically talks about the difference between him & where everyone else is at in their careers. “Count’n Me Out” sends the album off on a suspenseful note airing out those who doubted him.

Every time these guys link up with one another, they always bring the heat & Mission Hillz is no exception at all. I felt like some of K.A.A.N.’s last few albums have been lacking in the production department, so it makes me happy to hear him taking it back to the basics with Dem Jointz.

Score: 8/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com