Ohio-based rapper Stalley enjoyed some chart success during the mid-2010s, when he was signed to Rick Ross Maybach Music Group, and his debut full-length reached number five on Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums. He departed the majors for an independent career in 2017, but hes kept up the same prolific pace while hes drifted away from raps mainstream. Having previously worked with Apollo Brown in 2016, when he made a guest appearance on the Detroit beatmakers collaboration with Skyzoo, The Easy Truth, Stalley reunited with Brown for 2021s Blacklight, issued by a different MMG, Mello Music Group. Stalleys own releases have moved closer to the boom bap and left-field sounds preferred by underground labels like Mello, rather than the gangsta and Southern rap influences of his earlier work, so it seems natural at this point in his career to be making an album with a golden age-influenced producer like Brown. The albums premise is pretty straightforward, with Brown providing solid beats threaded with poignant, pitched-up samples and Stalley relaying tales about his drive for success. He addresses his former major-label deal on "Humble Wins," and seems grateful to be on his own path instead of being pushed to fit in with raps commercial side. Skyzoo guests on "Love Me, Love Me Not," the most memorable of the albums many odes to resilience; this particular one deals with former friends whose support apparently isnt unconditional. Joell Ortiz, another skilled rapper who once dabbled with major-label success before embarking on a more fulfilling indie career, contributes a focused, mildly tongue-twisting verse to "Bobby Bonilla," which is about keeping family focused while earning riches. Elsewhere, theres a gospel-infused pep talk encouraging fearlessness ("No Monsters"), a haunting prayer for the departed ("Lost Angels"), and a sparkling declaration of Midwest pride ("Broad Spectrum") before the album concludes with a dramatic poem by Omari Hardwick over simmering ambient waves ("Omaris Lament"). Fifteen tracks seems like a few more than necessary, but Blacklight is nothing if not consistent, and Brown, Stalley, and the featured guests are all highly determined throughout. ~ Paul Simpson

Rovi