Reviewed by Stephen Adams

MC/Producer Flynn (aka Flynn Adam Atkins) is back with his third solo album. Better known as one of the founding members of LA Symphony, Flynn is marked by his easy-going flow and heartfelt lyrics. However, as solo albums tend to allow the artist to express a different side of their artistry, that is definitely the case with Flynn, as he exhibits a poetic knack that is not as evident on his LA Symphony outings and thus awakening those who slept on his style. The album opens with "Love Is Dead (When)", a stirring banger with the chorus "When the love is dead, and the faith is dead, and the hope is dead, then you know I'm dead", as Flynn declares his resolve to live life to the full. The supremely funky "Superstar" follows with a catchy sung chorus poking fun at the materialistic MCs of commercial hip-hop. A noticeable factor is that this album is loaded with anthems, from the rousing "Get Up" to the old school styles of the superb LAS crew track "Freaky Flow" and the title track. However, Flynn showcases his musings on life, love, God, faith, hip-hop and all in between on several songs, the highlight being the Pigeon John-produced "Nyquil", which features Flynn pondering over death and the afterlife over gorgeous sampled vocal harmonies and a beat with slight disco influences (for some reason it made me think of Daft Punk). As Flynn was the producer behind many of the digitized synth tracks on the new LA Symphony album, the same sound is utilised here. However, it's apparent that Flynn has had more time to hone this sound as with the exception of "Push Me Away" and "Shut Up", most of the tracks on here are very well produced, allowing Flynn to shine lyrically. All in all, a great album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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