Canadian rapper Relic released his album Miles to Go in September. The album is purely Relic’s, and by that, I mean that he wrote the lyrics, made the beats, mixed, edited and arranged the entire project by himself. Now with that much blood, sweat and tears poured into this project, you’d hope and think that this album would be pretty damn good. So if you thought that, you’d be absolutely right.
Harnessing a mid-west kind of hip hop sound, Relic embellishes his track with witty wordplay and a hardcore voice over some pretty melodic instrumentals. The sound and quality of the album is superb and you can really and tell the amount of heart Relic not only put into this album alone, but his music in general. From showing off his rhyming talents, to going in and wearing his heart on his sleeve on tracks like “Nobody Like You,” Relic bounces ideas around in a very fluent and organized manner. Thought-provoking rhymes, razor-sharp delivery and a perfect flow, Relic has it all on the words-portion of his project Miles to Go.
A spirit-bursting amount of soul finds its way into almost every single beat on this album. Relic’s lyrical abilities are not only outstanding, but his drums are excellent, as well. Staying true to old-school-type hip hop and utilizing beat-break-like drums and chopped up vocal samples, the instrumentals on this album are full of energy and fuel the fire that Relic spits on each song. All the way down to the crispness of the snare hit, Relic knows how to make a beat, and what’s best is that they’re his beats, so he really has all of the emotion and feel built into every track before he even touches pen to pad.
There’s only a select few features find their way on Miles to Go. Canadian emcees back-up Relic, most notably Shad; however, Mr. J. Medeiros, Die-Rek and Ghettosocks all provide some vocals for Relic on a few songs. Although few in number, these featured lyricists are strong in talent and really add depth and wholeness to the songs they are heard on.
Relic is truly an impressive emcee. His ability to tell stories and paint a picture for the listener is fantastic and his ability to produce and write an album like this is hard to find sometimes in the hip hop world. A very personal album, Miles to Go really allows people to see and hear who Relic really is as an artist. The relentless soul heard in every beat is what hip hop should always have backing the emcee, and the true and authentic lyricism is what all rappers should possess when stepping up to the mic. Don’t doubt Relic, because in one album, he can most-likely turn a non-believer into a ultimate fan. The album can be heard in its entirety via Bandcamp below.
9/10
