Jahshua Smith, an emcee by way of Detroit released his debut album, The Final Season, back in February 2013. This was a record that went on to be a chart-topping CMJ release. Here we are over three years later, and things have changed, with the country moving forward in some ways, but seemingly taking steps back in other ways. The Final Season touched on a diversity of themes and tackles subjects from a variety of angles, while adding all types of flavor to the music. The Fourth Wall is the sophomore effort from the talented artist and I have to admit it’s the proper follow-up to his debut.
From the beginning, when looking at its tracklisting, The Fourth Wall has a lot of guest appearances. But instead of cramping the record and competing with Smith, they add much more to the record. Vocalist PhourTheLove is featured on seven tracks, but his heavenly vocals mesh perfectly with Smith. All the collaborations on this record feel organic. This wasn’t an online, pay and spit type deal. You can tell these two have chemistry together and you can feel it throughout the record. “Superpowers” is a track where the two go back and forth on the hook. Leadership and confidence are on display with this track. The two ride the beat, trading comic book references on a joint that bumps in the whip.
Blackness, being black and everything that encompasses our experience with it, the good and the bad, are spoke upon on The Fourth Wall. “Black Diamonds” is a posse cut and Jahshua Smith brings Adam Reverie, James Gardin, Red Pill and PhourTheLove along for the ride. I think what I like most about this album is the active voice of triumph that exudes from Jahshua Smith. On this, PhourTheLove is the glue stringing these four emcees together. Rev, James and Pill came together and being fans of all of them hearing this track was nothing short of a blessing to my ears.
I’ve covered a multitude of releases this year, each with its own production process and sound. The Fourth Wall is no different. This time around StewRat gives us a diversity of sounds to match all the moods and emotion on this record. It would be one thing to send some beats and just have Smith rap over them, but this album takes it up a notch. We have beats that have jazz, trap and funk influences and all of this is backed by live instrumentation. Sometimes you’ll notice the additional guitar, other times it’ll be the additional backing vocals. What we get in return is a well-rounded project. We aren’t just getting beats and rhymes (and there’s nothing wrong with that, I’ve heeded Phonte’s words I promise) we’re getting eclectic, creative music that will learn you while entertaining you as well.
There are so many ways to tackle this album. Lyrically, Jahshua Smith’s flow is easy enough to follow, but complex enough to challenge the listener to follow a concept album. The Fourth Wall is structured in loose acts and interwoven in those acts are perspectives on what we face and what others close to us may face. I think the strongest undertone on this are the tracks about the intimate relationships we have. Jahshua Smith covers everything from hook-up culture to identifying flaws in ourselves. The Fourth Wall is a multidimensional LP with numerous voices, talents and sounds that create a confident message for us.
