Bernz is a 42 year old MC from Miami, Florida most notable for being a co-founder of the band ¡MAYDAY! alongside Plex Luthor in 2003. But after bringing a co-frontman & 3 other instrumentalists into the fold by the end of the decade, Kansas City icon Tech N9ne signed the group to his evergrowing independent powerhouse Strange Music in 2011 & have remained on the label since. However, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where Bernz branched out into a solo career & dropped See You on the Other Side. Fast forward 4 years later, he’s enlisting 7 to produce his sophomore effort in it’s entirety.
Things kick off with the title track, where Bernz apologizes to the listener for what they’re about to hear over a dreary instrumental. The next song “Don’t Wait on Me” then tells this woman to walk out the door over a boom bap beat with an acoustic guitar while the track “On My Way” talks about how this woman makes him feel over a jam session-like instrumental. The track “Necessity” with his ¡MAYDAY! partner in rhyme Wrekonize sees the 2 getting confessional over a piano & some explosive drums while the song “Outchea” talks about keeping things on pace over some blissful guitar melodic & some handclaps.
The song “Limited Time” with Futuristic finds the 2 talking about out of town romance over a funky ass beat while the track “Done” talks about waking up from the wrong side & still feeling good over a tropical trap instrumental. The song “Slow Dance” is a beautiful foot tapper backed by a sensual beat with some heavy drums while the track “Old Cutler Drive” looks back on his younger days as a hungry artist over a trap instrumental that kinda has a jazzy flare to it.
The song “In My Mind” opens up on being epileptic over a lugubrious beat while the track “Party in My Room” talks about sex over a fast-tempo instrumental. The song “Lie to Me” talks about not wanting to hear any hard truths over a rhythmic beat while the track “Sunny Rain” talks about what it’s like for him to love this woman over a warm instrumental.
The song “Hold On” teams back up with Wrekonize as they tell their partners not to let go of them over a calming instrumental while the track “Double Down” talks about getting back up when you’re on the ground over a psychedelic beat. The closer “Let You Down” talks about getting lost in his thoughts over an acoustic instrumental & then the bonus cut “Late Checkout” is essentially Bernz doing dumb shit in the club over a beat that I almost wanna say is a bit Latin flavored.
Strange Music has been constantly staying busy all year & if this is the last full-length album we’re getting from them until 2021, then what a damn-near perfect way to finish it off because Bernz really took it to a whole nother level on here in comparison to [i]See You on the Other Side[/i]. The lyrics are most personal yet & his chemistry with 7 is just astounding, as the production on here is incredibly versatile.
Strange Music has been constantly staying busy all year & if this is the last full-length album we’re getting from them until 2021, then what a damn-near perfect way to finish it off because Bernz really took it to a whole nother level on here in comparison to See You on the Other Side. The lyrics are most personal yet & his chemistry with 7 is just astounding, as the production on here is incredibly versatile.
Score: 4.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 