Reviewed by Steve Hayes

This, the debut album by Wolverhampton's Soloman, is a raw piece of UK hip-hop. Mixing samples, underground breaks and scripturally sound, thought-provoking lyrical streams the rapper exudes a passion that more over-produced hip-hop could never hope to reach. From the off, Soloman comes out firing - first up a rap against guns, violence and profanity. Instead he spits Christ against this with "verbal masterpieces. . .to teach about truth and justice". Hard to find standout breaks as there are so many, mixing samples, scratches, cuts and breaks ("The End Is Near", "Thank You"). In "Demons Get Executed" there's clever wordplay, delivery and instrumental breaks that twist perfectly together. There's a mix of compressed beats ("Give Him The Glory") to some rolling cuts ("The Essence" featuring D7) and cut back beats ("The Jorney") while the project covers such issues as "Racial Injustice". We end with a highlight, "Let My Light Shine" featuring Natali J and P G Solomon, which encourages us to be ourselves and let our light shine in the short time we're here. Another outstanding album from the UK underground.

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