Raw Soul – Journey // Destination

Raw Soul – Journey // Destination – Album Review

The new Raw Soul album opens with confidence and the strong voice you know at the helm as “Terra” gets things moving.  With a series of verbal gymnastics being performed, where syllables are punched directly for emphasis bar after bar, “Terra” serves its purpose as the introduction to what you’ll discover on Journey // Destination while still leaving Raw Soul plenty of room to expand the vibe from there on.  The quality of sound is there from the very first seconds of this record though, and it’ll be undeniably impressive to any set of ears – the listenability of this new album is radiantly apparent through its top notch production and stellar music backing up Raw Soul’s steady stream of syllables on the mic.  “Terra” kicks things off in the right way, “one rhyme at a time” as the record slides into focus.  From the outside listening in, it sure seems like Raw Soul is in a good place right now…he’s projecting full confidence for sure, and spittin’ rhymes straight from his chest loud and proud, just the way that you’d hope he would.

“To The Top” is perhaps a better example of a track that’s got a more universal style of hook to the music, rhythm, and flow that’ll catch the attention of listening ears.  Don’t get me wrong – “Terra” is a quality cut, but you’ll know what I mean when you hear “To The Top” come on right afterwards…you’ll get that head noddin’ around in approval…this is the kind of sound that slides straight outta your speakers and into your ears with zero resistance in between.  Yeah…like…this is 100% it, you know?  If you don’t know, it’s only because you haven’t heard it yet…and if you haven’t heard it yet, don’t beat yourself up too hard – Journey // Destination hasn’t been out that long and there’s plenty of time for you to spin this record.  Any set of ears that has heard “To The Top” knows what I’m talkin’ about though…you put this track on, you feel that potency of swagger & style combined…and there’s really no going back from there.  This is where you end up having no real choice but to reevaluate what you might have thought you were in-store for – as in, “Terra” was good, but “To The Top” is greatness that you couldn’t possibly mistake for being anything else.  Awesome to hear Raw Soul standing on his business so early on into the record – “To The Top” remained one of my favorites from the moment I heard it.

It’s good to Raw Soul giving his record the opportunity to make an impact on ya, like he does with “How That Sound?” following the single-worthy sounds of “To The Top” in a back-to-back display of solid cuts to be found towards the beginning of Journey // Destination.  What I love about “How That Sound?” is that you can hear how much is accomplished through the balance of strengths achieved from the music to the microphone – they both play such crucial roles in a case like this, but equally substantial ones.  We’ll talk about this a bit more as the review goes on, but let’s be real here – I’m only being my normal objective self…if you’ve been listening to this record, the essential contribution that is being made from both halves is more than apparent to ya, I promise.  I freakin’ LOVE the music you’ll find on “How That Sound?” without question – and what’s amazing to me, is that the only thing that seems to be able to rival how much I like what I hear in the music, is hearing Raw Soul hit these bars with such surgical precision.  “How That Sound?” is another spectacular highlight on this album that occurs early on in the lineup.  Spoiler alert though…y’ain’t gonna find the man making too many mistakes if any at all as you cruise through the set-list of Journey // Destination.  Raw Soul is firing off with supreme consistency.

You can visibly see that “A While…” has Raw Soul giving himself the advantage of a bit more time with this cut finding its way over the four-minute mark.  Love what I’m hearing on this cut…it’s got a jazzy beat that’s delicate but irresistible…and overall, you can hear the man hit the roots of Hip-Hop on a track like this.  I spent a ton of time back in the day listening to racks of OGs from Kool Moe Dee to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince & just about everything in between…LL…KRS-One…you get it, you get it.  If you were there at the time, you get it…you know the sound, you know the style, and you know that at the point we’re in now on the timeline of music’s history, it’s become a quintessentially timeless vibe.  “A While…” has that like…contemplative kind of sound to it that I really enjoy.  You find it on cuts like “Ain’t No Place Like Home” from Code Red…the kind of tracks that get you feeling some type of way that only great music & quality lyricism combined can get you to tune into.  He’s gettin’ introspective for ya on “A While…” for sure, but I love how the effect of going in that direction with his words ends up creating the same effect on us as we listen…we start internalizing our own journey through life and figuring out what we’re thankful for and how we can try to make tomorrow better than our today was.  Leading by example is really what it’s all about…that’s the way a track like “A While…” works its magic – we hear the humble nature of our rhythmic narrator and the honesty in his words, and we feel that.

Journey // Destination hits the halfway point with “Monk” finishing off side-A in this ten track record.  I probably went a little back & forth on this one…there’s a lot I like about “Monk” and more that I liked than what I didn’t.  I felt like this was a bit of a pinch point in the sense that…I mean…rappin’ ain’t EASY y’all – and you feel that here.  It’s such a relentlessly fine-line to walk…you need words that rhyme to make it as effective as we know it can be, yet when you’re focused on that, you can end up somewhat compromising things a bit when you’re using words that fit the vibe phonetically, because they’re not always going to say what you’re really looking to say – you feel me?  You can get’em close, no doubt, but if your priority is the rhyme itself, there’s always going to be a trade-off being made that stops you from saying something how you might normally go about saying it – make sense?  I don’t mind it too much when that happens, as long as it’s not too much of a dominant factor…like I said, you’ll find a bit of that creeping into “Monk,” but not nearly enough to make you wanna skip the track.  Honestly, it’s something you’ll find in just about anyone’s work whether they’re in the Rap game or coming atcha from a different genre – to Raw Soul’s credit, he’s on-point so much more than you’d ever consider him to be off, and beyond that, there are no rules that say everything has gotta make 100% sense 100% of the time anyhow.  So really, we’re kinda clutching at straws – there’s not too much left to advise or coach Raw Soul on…the man knows what he’s doing.  I’m always gonna advise focusing on making sure you’re saying what you really wanna say as opposed to fitting things into the rhyme scheme, but to his credit, he really hasn’t left us with much else to critique.  “Monk” still sounds great when it comes right down to it, and I wouldn’t tell you otherwise – the vocals and the music combined are always enticing.

The man’s doing really well with the short tracks on this record, and I’m impressed by that.  Normally, I don’t usually find myself recommending going that route – and I wouldn’t suggest doing that for the majority of you out there, especially in Rap/Hip-Hop where it’s pretty damn crucial to have enough runway to support all the words you wanna spit.  Results are results though – and listen to’em on “2012” will ya?  Dude doesn’t even start rapping until he’s got like, what, less than ninety seconds left to go in “2012?”  Insane!  Do I have to push the repeat button to get enough of this particular track?  Yes.  Yes I do.  He’s left me no choice.  Having said that, there are two ways you can go about things though, and I’d reckon he’s on the right side of the argument.  You either create songs that make us wanna spin them again because they’re too short or too good – in this case both – OR…you can end up overstuffing a song with hot air, a lack of substance, and/or too much repetition when things run for too long.  I’m fairly confident we’d all be on the same side of being willing to push repeat instead of enduring a track that wants to overstay its welcome, right?  “2012” gives you just about everything you need.  Would I have taken another minute of it, still, even after saying all that I’ve said?  Hell yes I would!  I’m greedy.

For a second there…when “Words From Your Tongue” started up with a rhyme that like…well…I mean, it just didn’t make a whole lotta sense to me – “words from your tongue blocked out my sun” – I was a little worried about this track.  Even though that hook will continue to show up more as this song spins through its length…and I never really felt like I got it in terms of what it would potentially mean…like, it sounds cool & all…but like…yeah for real, I gotta admit I’m not entirely sure what the meaning behind that hook would be I guess.  Anyhow – the potent uniqueness of the way Raw Soul hits his bars directly after that as “Words From Your Tongue” expands, is nothing short of brilliant & it makes for a seriously memorable highlight in terms of switching up his rhythm & flow.  This is definitely one of my favorite combinations between the music & the microphone found in any corner of this record…love the music, love the background elements & production, and the fluidity of Raw Soul at his innovative best keeps us fully engaged from beginning to end, regardless of whether or not we understand what the heck he’s rappin’ about this time.  The best guess I’ve got is that like…”words from your tongue blocked out my sun” would be akin to challenging beliefs, or making it impossible to see things the way you once saw them before someone said some shit that changed your whole world view?  It might be something like that…or maybe it really just sounds cool and it’s designed to send us down the rabbit hole permanently.

Dude selects such spectacular music to work with, and you can hear how much of a difference it makes to his performances when he finds the right spark to work with.  For example – you can HEAR the vibe and how it contributes to the inspiration he’s rockin’ with on “Simple Breeze.”  I’d probably even go as far as to say that “Simple Breeze” might even be THE most universal cut on the record…the song that we literally all agree on as being one of the album’s best, or at least the most catchy to our ears.  I don’t know that “Simple Breeze” quite reaches the pinnacle of heights we found early on in this lineup through cuts like “To The Top” or “How That Sound?” in terms of its natural swagger and accessibility – but if it doesn’t, it’s real damn close.  At the very least, “Simple Breeze” is another cut on this record that will prove to be no problem for the people out there – they’ll love what they find here, because how could they not?  You’d have to be made of pure granite stone to resist a cut like “Simple Breeze” – facts.

“What’s Next?” has the man sounding fully confident at full strength on the m-i-c as he trips into the past to reveal where he’s heading to in the future to follow.  As they say, the past is prologue, right?  A track like “What’s Next?” confirms that.  Love the music he’s selected for this track as well – I mean, that’s been the case throughout this entire record – I genuinely believe that Raw Soul has an incredible grip on the kind of sound & vibe he wants to create, and his sound-selection has been the real key for him to achieve that vision.  I think when a lot of rappers and Hip-Hop artists out there compare and contrast what they’re doing up against what Raw Soul is doing, they’ll understand the difference being made through the music.  Let’s be real here – when you listen to “What’s Next?,” you’ll hear such a truly wonderful composition flowing smoothly through the background…and it’s certainly not the kind of music that you’d typically associate with the genre.  He throws himself a bit of a lifeline by always having his beat with the snare and low end kickin’ strong, which any rapper would tell ya is really all you’re ever going to need to hit them bars as hard as you wanna – but regardless, he’s still adding plenty of innovation to the game by the music he’s been choosing to go along with it, and it makes the difference when it comes to this record.  Do I love the dual layers of vocals in the last verses of “What’s Next?”  Not really, no.  But who gives a rat’s ass?  I’m just another opinion on the internet and not the authority on what makes everything great!  I appreciate that Raw Soul tried out something new there – much as I do when anyone tries something different than they’ve been doing.  The idea doesn’t get in the way of what has been a solid cut in “What’s Next?,” but at the same time, didn’t push it further forward either.

Ending the album with the title-track “Journey // Destination,” Raw Soul gives you that autobiographical style of cut that fits somewhere in the realm between stuff like Naughty By Nature and Jelleestone.  I’m all for it – and at nearly five & a half-minutes in length, Raw Soul gives himself the opportunity to make more of a lyrical impression on ya than he has been able to in a lot of this set.  Don’t get it twisted – that’s not always the goal, and nor does it need to be – each track has got different priorities, and that’s the way it should be – all I’m saying is that “Journey // Destination” is practically twice the length of most of the songs in this set, so obviously he’s got the space to do more than what a two-minute track can offer, you feel me?  “Don’t be in a rush man, don’t be in a hurry, take time to decide, take pride in the journey” – I couldn’t have said it better myself…these right here, are words I can only hope that you are livin’ by y’all.  I don’t want you to think I’m not paying attention – I know that most of you AREN’T living by wisdom like this, because I see how you post up, what you post up, and we all know we’re livin’ in a world that’s practically defined by instant gratification now.  That being said – if you’re really making a connection with this planet, the people on it, and most importantly, yourself…then you’ve learned that instant gratification ain’t shit, and that appreciating the journey is the most crucial aspect to long-lasting happiness & your enjoyment of LIFE.  Here’s what I will tell you that probably no one else will though – I’d say that “Journey // Destination” is the most complete track on this record, if not its best.  I’m not even saying that I wouldn’t still want to listen to “To The Top” more, or maybe the other cuts I’ve cited as being crucial to this lineup like “A While…” or “How That Sound?,” “2012” or “Simple Breeze” – I could easily have days where I’d reach for those tracks before I might reach for “Journey // Destination” I suppose.  But if we’re talking about structure, writing, accessibility, substance, and style combined – I don’t know how you wouldn’t give the crown to the title-track…it stands out by every measurement for all the right reasons.  Maybe a little bit of Coolio’s spirit sprinkled into the mix here, with a bit of that DMX grit and gruffness to the vocals – I feel like that’s an influence you can always hear in Raw Soul’s delivery without him going too overboard with it.  In any event, I think he’s got something genuinely special with “Journey // Destination” that feels like an unmistakable statement track in this lineup, and it definitely makes for a compelling conclusion to cap off what’s been another solid record from Raw Soul.

Find out more about Raw Soul from this multi-link here:  https://linktr.ee/rdotsoul

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