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Reviewed by I.S. Jones @isjonespoetry

As an artist, one who doesn’t want to be just great but legendary, we must forge our path that will lead us to the mountaintop. There is no set, fixed formula as to how we will reach our greatness. And so we walk. We walk to find ourselves, our purpose on this planet, and to discover our impact. The title of the following album Walking Home Alone plays off the old saying: “Home is where the heart is” and if you choose to dig deeper, when I look at the title and the content of this first mixtape, the title seems to draw from Psalm 23:4: “Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me”. jLaSol, an emerging rapper from St. Albans, Queens, brings to us the tale of a young man realizing his purpose / reasons to keep persevering in life by way of music; a young man on a literally and metaphor walk through life, through himself, through the music has saved him.

Track one “As I Walk…” samples of “All Of The Lights” by the demi-god Yeezy and it is gorgeous; the gothic violins which seems to sweep out a setting of a dark, dimly lit sidewalk. I wish the first track had been more adventurous. While I love and admire any track that samples Kanye, the misstep here is as far as the melody is concerned, I get no sense of who the rapper is. If I wanted to listen to MBDTF, then I would do that. As an up and coming rapper, it is vital to draw from the past but it is critical to make your voice stand out above that which has come before you and the voices around you. I felt the first tracks plays it far too safe and could have done more to really introduce to this new voice in hip-hop. In track two, he tells his audience how he has not fully achieved inner peace. Some of the lyrics go: “Knock on Happiness’ s door / and she said enter please / but the door’s locked and I lost my keys. Damn”. The song ends with the refrain: “Can I be me? Can I live free?” and these questions seem to explain why the speaker cannot get through Happiness’s door, but I’m still wanting more. It is a dangerous tightrope walk because these topics—loneliness, confusion, internal struggle—are so important to discuss but I feel as though I’m being told about loneliness and internal struggle instead of the music showing me these things.

“So Far”, the fourth track, is the only one in the mixtape with a feature. I think this is the most compelling track because it does the work that the preceding songs should have done. Both voices on the track echo the lament of a young man out of options, stuck in a painful rut he cannot get out of: “To live is to do or die / So who am I juggling thoughts of suicide like / Why do I feel so far away…?”. The speaker understands the world isn’t compassionate to those who stray away from a normal life. Crippled with depression, suicide seems to be the only option against the backdrop of a world that doesn’t support dreamers. The rejection of God comes from rage and sorrow as He has never been there for the speaker in time of tribulation. The other most powerful line in this song, “But sometimes I can’t wait to see Him”. Hands down my favorite track in the album for its originality, bravery, the delicate compliment of the feature, but most importantly the lyrics and the melody are in sync—neither one is fighting for dominance. Then “Can’t Stop” is a sharp turn in the road. Every song before that had a more somber and darker tone, but Can’t Stop is more uplifting where the speaker is beginning to understand why they are alive. The song feels like a declaration that misery will leave and hope will prevail. It is a heroic song. Some of my favorite lyrics in “Walking Home Alone” come from this song. It is a courageous song paired so well with the sampling. However, I am critical of how the breath and pacing of the lyrics are juxtaposed with the beat. The beat feels like a runaway train the lyrics were too busy trying to chase after. The rapping is trying so hard to keep up that the rapper sounds breathless.

Promise picks up from ‘Can’t Stop’, and Promise feels as though we are witnessing the speaker’s emotional growth, which makes sense as Heart (Interlude) quite literally as the name states—the song is full of just that. Paired with piano and the low rumbling of voices, the song is very tender. Promise reminds me so much of Cudi’s aesthetic especially with the refrain “Fuck what you say, Imma go my way”.

To be honest, I wish the entire mixtape was like “My Story”. Not because the song samples Kendrick’s “Sing about me / I’m dying of thirst” because the narrative style, calm pacing, and the fluid nature of the rap. “My Story” was difficult to get through because the impressive sadness the speaker goes through. It is through pain and trails that he found writing and such a love transformed the speaker. This song commands the speaker’s full attention because of how honest the lyrics are. The last line of the story, if you pay attention closely it spells out every title of the song in the mixtape and personally I love finding Easter eggs in music. Concluding with “Dreams” the song is an ascension, the end of the road. It is clear music is the ‘home’ the speaker had been looking for all along.

Rushed tempo, sub-par sound quality, and not enough risk are my three critical points with this album. I felt if the rapping wasn’t trying so hard to keep up with the beat, if the production quality was better, and if more risks or leaps were taken, then this could have had the potential to be a really innovative mixtape. Overall, I think for the mixtape is, it does a sufficient job of exploring a possible new voice in this genre.

Final Rating: 3.25 / 5

Connect with jLaSol
Facebook.com/jLaSol | Twitter.com/notenoughsol