Vancouver, B.C. – With Reflectionz’ recent release “5trength 1n Numb3rs” you get just that – to reflect on hip-hop styles of old over the numerous tracks he offers up. With the myriad producers and DJs involved in the project, Refectionz switches up the style but maintains a classic feel and sound from beginning to end.

From the start Reflectionz sets the pace and tone quickly. And the pace is set to a steady head bob and the tone is clear – legit hip-hop. This dude’s official, it’s hard to imagine that EPMD, Rakim, and Kool G Rap weren’t all playing in the background as this album was being crafted. But there’s no rip-off factor here, only tribute and inspiration. With songs like “Mic Control” and “Coastline” the old school flavor is undeniable yet there’s no novelty or gimmick here, which is proven by the term ‘old school’ rarely being heard throughout his throw-back style.

Returning to the title “5trength 1n Numb3rs,” not only does Reflectionz strike an excellent balance with the amount of songs he arranged, he did just the same with the amount of guests he featured. Lesk One appears several times, on songs such as “Hardrocks” and “Movin On” and it’s easy to see why. Lesk and Reflectionz make great partners in rhyme with each MC’s style complementing the others’ perfectly. And with other guest artists like Jeff Spec, Def3 and Kapok the album is kept that much more interesting without any of Reflectionz thunder being stolen. He certainly doesn’t depend on any guests to help him fill out a track, evidenced by the amount of times he handles the entirety of a song, hook and all.

So in an era where it seems there are all too many forms of rap to choose from, it’s nice to see and hear someone sticking to the program and by doing so paying respect to the culture. Reflectionz manages to give us a recording that sounds fresh from the jump while continuing to remind us of the culture by taking it back to its roots.

Written by Jesse Furnell for HipHopCanada

Check out the EP HERE.

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Tags: Def3, Jeff Spec, Kapok, Lesk One, Reflectionz

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Posted by Jesse Furnell

Jesse "Lyric420" Furnell grew up in the Surrey skate scene of the early 90s. Exposed to more rock than rap - although he did own Public Enemy's Fear Of A Black Planet tape in elementary school - his attitude that 'good art is good art' has always given him a fresh outlook on music whether it be punk, prog rock, metal, indie or rap. The Bay Area scene and sound of the late 90s is what initially pulled Jesse into the boom bap: thanks to Quannum and Heiro, along with what was happening in the East coast underground rap scene, he found himself immersed, impressed and obsessed with hip-hop like never before. The philosophy major turned college dropout, once a familiar face at the Surrey courthouse, is now more entrenched in music than ever before. He started rapping in early 2000 and he's yet to stop, even when asked to. Fortunately or unfortunately, Jesse has much to say on the topic of hip-hop and has now been given the chance to have his opinion heard on a national scale. Our apologies.

1. 
   CDec 27, 2011 at 2:12 pm

   As Jesse Furnell is saying, Reflectionz creates art paying homage to hip hop culture! 5TRENGTH 1N NUMB3ERS -WORD UP!!!