Following up his 2014 album “Passion”, Local Muzik’s own Ameen Spade crafted a scene defining album, painting a lyrical picture of life in my city St.Petersburg, FLA.
The soulful intro sets off the album with some old school vibes. Spade touches on many themes on the album, from the death of his mom and other loved ones to the daily grind of living in the 727. There is also a runner theme to the album, I am not sure if Spade has a track background but the theme meshed well with the other topics he touches on.
The Kool & The Gang “Summer Madness” sampled “Stride” continues the track theme. Spades flow is next level on this one, once he’s in his pocket no one can really touch Spade on the mic.
“10 Years” featuring fellow Local Muzik member Mari So Dope has a beat that sounds like some shit off of “Yoshi’s Island” soundtrack. Putting Mari on the boastful hook was a nice touch.
Hands down one of the most important songs to the city is “Life In St.Pete”. Once again Mari is on the hook to hold it all together. Spade paints vivid pictures of life in the city from just smokin with the homies to gettin bothered by 12 in Kennth City. Spade captures the duality of our city in such a beautiful way. This song is immortal at this point.
The snippets on the album really tie in all the themes perfectly. “Giving My All (Oh No)” is on some triumphant shit. This track could definitely be on NBA 2K or some shit like that, you just want to ball out.
“2 Swigs” is on some trill shit. I love the airy chopped and screwed beat. Spade even states this shit is a classic on this track, so we both on the same page.
“Ramblin” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. From the dark eerie beat to the slow hard way Spade flows on it, dare I say I feel “Ancient Barbarian” vibes on this one. Spades storytelling makes a slight return on this track.
The track “RIP (I Heard)” really hits home. Despite all the sunshine and beauty some really dark stuff really goes down in the burg. I actually knew a couple of the people Spade touched on in the track I actually knew in real life, giving the track another level. Shout out Southside Middle School.
By far my favorite track on the album and potentially my favorite solo Spade track is “Playa Playa”. From the airy trap beat with those insane vocals to Spades brazy hook. You really feel the confidence and emotion in Spade’s delivery. So many quotables on this one, from the “Long Fellow Deeds” line to the cookin in front of momma line, Spade crafted an immortal track.
“Flava” feels like it’s on some Florida Underground shit, with the dark menacing beat. Would definitely like to see Spade do more tracks like this in the future.
Reminiscent of the Lil Wayne classic “I’m Single”, “Sola” I believe is sampled by that track if not it sounds mad similar but still very dope. Spade takes a more melodic approach to this song, giving the album a large amount of versatility.
“Made It Out” is on some futuristic Local Muzik shit. The Locals always been ahead of the rest when it comes to sounds. Tracks like this are perfect examples of the sound the St. Pete Hip Hop scene represents.
The album ends out with “Words From OG”. I wouldn’t expect everyone to understand this album but you can’t say it isn’t dope as hell man. If you can’t relate iz you really local?