This is the sophomore full-length LP from Maryland recording artist Ty Fontaine. Coming up in 2019 off the strength of his debut EP Waiting on Ascension, he would go on to follow this up with the full-length debut We Ain’t the Same alongside a couple of mixtapes & 3 more EPs, the previous being The Revive preluding a sequel to his Internet Money Records-backed debut mixtape Ascension & more recently Black Truck Life last spring. He signed to MNRK Music Group for his 7th EP 264 the previous winter & is back for a follow-up to the tape that got him where he is today.

“spotlight” spaciously starts Ascension 2 addressing a woman he’s addicted to but not committed to whereas “ash kash” keeps the synths in the fold treating every diamond on his body as if they’re trophies. “gotham” calls himself a Martian looking at every experience being priceless like it came from an auction over a rage-inducing beat from Devstacks leading into the trap-flavored “computer s3x” talking about having the same crew as he did when he first emerged on the scene.

Things take a cloudier turn instrumentally on “what’s life, to waste it?” explaining that his dreams are way too big just before “Adventure Time (racks on my body)” hooks the synths back up to talk about being unable to worry about shit since he loves the finer things in life. “alleviate depression” describes the jadedness of the land where everybody’s somebody over an psychedelic trap beat that Cubeatz & SADPONY co-produced, but then “parlay” has a moodier sound overall telling his partner she knows what it is.

“doin’ damage” flexes the Ben Franks in his pocket over more synthesizers & hi-hats accompanying him while the woozy “studio junkie” talks about being unable to sleep for 3 days straight since he’s been in the lab cooking nonstop. “only 1” tells this chick he’s the guy she should be spending time with a peaceful instrumental backing him while “it gets better” intoxicatingly discusses brighter days. Vendr provides “don’t give up on me” a rich backdrop pleading for his lover to stay & the heavenly “rolling” ends the LP not wanting to feel his face.

To begin the deluxe run or Act II officially, “lift your head up” encourages everyone listening to keep their guard on some euphoric trap shit while “raw dawg dippin’” mixes these horns & hi-hats together talking about thuggin’ as of late. “downer” has a peaceful trap approach generally reassuring everyone that he’s still doing his thing out here even if they gon’ try him every time while the bubbly trap joint “knee high” that FNZ & Cade laced admitting her love feels like everything is anything.

“rave girl” is a cloudy start to the other half of Ascension 2’s subsequent act talking about getting romantically involved with the titular kind of women while the trap-rock flavored “dead or alive” promises that they’ll remember him making it out. “I Never Wanna Wake Up” expresses his desire to stay in his dreams & Rio Leyva helping him stick to a cloudy trap sound while the synth-trap hybrid “i say, you say.” let’s this woman feel his energy. “Imagine 2” is a sequel to a highlight track off Ty’s debut EP Waiting on Ascension & the final bonus track “Save Me” featuring tana ends by addressing those who envy him making it.

Ascension has to be my favorite thing that Ty has ever done & frankly, the sequel here lives up to the bar that the predecessor set 3 years ago surpassing every single thing he’s done since. The production is just as fun as Internet Money’s was when they helped introduce Ty a few summers back & he manages to deliver some of his strongest performances & songwriting in quite a while. Maybe even of his entire career.

Score: 4/5

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