Raz wows in debut album

By Nick Juanitas,

HUB Staff Writer–

When you hear someone mention Seattle, Washington you probably think of coffee and rain.  Those would both make sense since Seattle is the coffee capitol of the world mostly due to it raining 200 days of the year.  However you probably don’t think of Seattle as an up and coming rap city attempting to jostle its way into the national spotlight.

Seattle is know as the birthplace of grunge and the home of Sir Mix-A-Lot, but in today’s modern world it is a booming city of young adults who are listening to Seattle born rappers who are trying to make it big.

Leading the charge for these young rappers is international superstar Macklemore who used his hit single “Thrift Shop” to propel himself to fame.  His fame is bringing people’s attention to other unheard of rappers from the “Emerald City” and one of those is Raz.

Raz comes from a part of Seattle that many people don’t see and he’s not afraid to talk about it. Many of the songs in his new EP, “Solomon Samuel Simone”, which was released on April 5, talk about his upbringing in a rough neighborhood and the barriers he’s had to overcome in order to succeed in the music industry.

On the opening track “These Kids Throw Rocks”, Raz talks about living in a place where dreams go to die but how that won’t stop him.   He talks further about his rough neighborhood in the chorus by singing “I like my car parked up the block
Take my tech deck out and keep me doors locked
Cus these kids throw Rocks and
These kids ain’t got aim.”

Raz has voice much like Lil Wayne’s, both are raspy and somewhat horse sounding. But unlike Lil Wayne, Raz’s lyrics are poetic and don’t just speak of partying and drugs.  Raz uses all of his skills taught to him in poetry classes as a child to write lyrics that strike a chord with anyone who hears him.

His ability to poetically voice his opinion on day-to-day issues becomes apparent almost the second you start listening to him.  He voices his opinion on cheating women in the song “Cold” by saying “You think it’s ok ta lie because you’ve been lied to.
Or try ta play your man cus your last lova two timed you. Hurting people hurt and lies are just like the flu. Deception is contagious
And who really likes the truth”

I believe the greatest part of the album is not his raspy poetic verses or his boastful claims that he will make it big one day. Instead I believe the greatest part is the cover art on the front of the album. The cover shows Raz and his mother staring off into the unknown, almost as if they are staring at Raz’s future fame way off in the distance. The look on Raz’s face shows a determination to reach his goals and it backs up all that he preaches in his music.

I believe that he has the talent to become one of the best but he just needs the exposure.  I’m not afraid that he won’t get the exposure because he’s one rapper that will work himself to death trying to get his work out to the world. I believe we’ll all be hearing more from him soon.