Straightface Forever

When I reviewed StraightFace’s first self-titled LP as part of our Straight From The Teet feature back in June, I gave it a 6.8 due to the project having an unpolished feel to it. The young Georgia native was taken aback by the mark, feeling like I could’ve at least pushed it up to a more rounded seven. With the words of my last review stuck firmly in his head, StraightFace went away and started working on his next project, and release dates kept getting pushed further back, and when he dropped a teaser video alongside his ‘5 Minutes With StraightFace’ feature on EARMILK, we thought that the album would be imminent, but it's taken a little longer than planned.

Four months later, we have finally been treated to the full project, and what StraightFace has done with Forever, is quite astonishing. If the StraightFace LP was the gritty precursor, then Forever is the finely tuned and polished piece of art that shows just what kind of a talent StraightFace has.

Right from the opening prologue, you get a great sense of epicness that's about to unfold. The opening bass notes from "I Am" make you think that the track is about to get into full turnt up mode, only to be subdued by the rawness of StraightFace's vocals, before completely dying out for a few seconds before crashing back with an eclectic hook. "Omega" follows the same kind of suit, with huge, deep kicks, overlapped with delicate shuffling hi-hats whilst plucky synths play out arpeggios on top. "Still Dade" shows a more relaxed side to the Miami native, as he spits about growing up in the Dade County area, and the trials and tribulations that he has been through. There are a couple of healthy slices of boom bap rap inserted into this project, with "Winter" and "86" serving up a head nodding treat, whilst title track "Forever" is a dark and deep look at America, with some very poignant lyrics mixed in with some bass heavy production that'll instantly have you making your best bass face.

Forever is by far the most polished and complete body of work that StraightFace has produced to date. It won't be everyone's kind of vibe, as the rawness, passion and aggression that the Georgia emcee raps with is more of a niche market, but that doesn't stop StraightFace from sticking to his guns. It's a rap album at heart, but with more alternative influences thrown into the mix that gives it more of an edge over a lot of releases coming out around this time. Without doubt its worth a download, and the best part is, it's free! - EarMilk

Forever is more than just an album, it's a story that grabs your attention straight from the start. This music is not for the average listener who just wants to hear the latest Top 40 hits on the radio, it is for those who want music that will evoke raw emotion. In every track you can hear the pain and emotion that StraightFace has had endure in his life. I was extremely impressed with the production of this album, StraightFace's flow and lyricism are top quality and along with all the awesome samples used throughout the album he has created some of my favorite work so far this year. I hope to hear a lot more from StraightFace in the future and see him develop even more into an amazing artist. Forever was one of my favorite tracks off this album, I was at aw of the story he tells and the emotion that I felt just listening to the song, for me it truly was the perfect ending for the album. I urge you to go take a listen to Forever below and support StraightFace by spreading his music. - Alive&Vibrant

The beauty of working an ‘underground’ blog is that you get the standard credentials that allow you to interact with successful mainstream artists AND you get a plethora of submitted work from that next generation of replacements, i.e. the underground itself. Recently I came across some music from a rapper out of Athens, GA called StraightFace. I don’t know much about this cat (his website won’t help you), so I’ll stick to the music here. As this single (below) demonstrates, this artist does not make your father’s sort of hip hop. This isn’t boom bap, backpack, hyphy, trap rap or any other ‘genre’ you have come to identify as hip hop. This music falls outside of the placid margins dictated by industry elites, as indicated by the Tame Impala beat, who’s a self-proclaimed maker of psychedelic hypno-groove melodic rock music. Amidst the instrumental debauchery StraightFace is able to lay down some well placed lyrics with depth; a little God speak, a little ‘I still think about that girl’ talk, and plenty of questioning of purpose. I know this sounds crazy town, but trust me, take the path that is off beaten, mix it with a little of your unique creative interpretation of things and you’ll end up with product worth slanging. StraightFace forever? We’ll see, good start though. - ZebraIsFood

Miami native and current Athens, Georgia native StraightFace dropped off his latest record "Void." The in your face production handled by Talen Ted allows StraightFace to show off his unique flow and creative lyrics. The raw nature of this cut makes for an entertaining listen. Expect to hear more from him in the near future. - DopeMusicBlog