Brutally Honest, the debut album from Minneapolis emcee Status Reign, is a 60-minute whirlwind tour of style and sound. Not only does he pull it off, he kills it. We sat down with Status Reign last August to talk about the upcoming album and, nearly a year later, I feel comfortable saying that Brutally Honest completely delivers on the massive promise of the tracks we heard then.

Like Background Noise Crew labelmate Analyrical, Status Reign took a while to grow on me. To that end, I’ve been sitting on this album since late April and, even after I finally made a concerted effort to sit down and write this thing, I’ve struggled to both be concise and give credit where credit is due. My biggest complaint with most artists is that there isn’t enough going to on to keep me interested. (cough*RayLamontagne*cough)

I can’t say the same thing about Status Reign and, while that makes the album a million times more rewarding to listen through, it also makes it a million times harder to pin down.

Brutally Honest is all over the board, but in the best way possible. From the ghostly chorus, stuttering drums and sideswipe scratches of “Hold On,” (I flashed back to Dilated Peoples’ “The Platform”) to the synth-heavy “Tonight,” and the lazy summer beats of “Damn I’m Breakin’,” Status Reign treads a lot of different water, and he’s a strong enough lyricist to carry them all with ease.

For an example of Status Reign’s verbosity and musical shapeshifting, check the two below tracks.

“American Queen” “Hold On”

As far as lyrics go, Status Reign should appeal to fans of Sage Francis (I actually think Status Reign has a smoother flow) and Aesop Rock. He’s weighty without sacrificing rhymes and mixes the poignant and playful seamlessly. In fact, between the three, I think Status Reign strikes that middle ground most effortlessly.

For hip hop fans, this is the kind of album that justifies your dedication to the genre. For everyone else, this might be a reason to give it a try.

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