[Album] PAWZ ONE - "Face The Facts"

Pawz One is a quick-minded writer and spitter with a good ear for beats that's been on the rise for a few years with independent mixtape releeases like the "Verbal Virus" series, "B.A.D. Company" and "Numbers Don't Lie". Coming from the streets of Los Angeles you can count on Pawz having a whole bunch of interesting stories to tell, and as the press release states "the album plays out like a Golden Era hustler's anthem, [but it's the] delivery and presentation that makes this one so memorable". "Face The Facts" is eighteen tracks of fine storytelling rap, everyday life documents and striving from nothing to the top over a mix of gritty boom bap and slightly smoother jazz-esque joints provided by long-time collaborators Default and Breeze (both fellow LA-reps), respecitvely. While Pawz would perfectly hold down this LP by hismelf it's hard to complain when the guests invited to the table includes Ras Kass, Rakaa Iriscience, Masta Ace, Termanology and 2Mex. Another positive is the heavy use of cutting and scratching, something that pretty much any real hip-hop LP benefits tremendously from in my opinion. Though Pawz have been making his name known through the mixtape series throughout these recent years, I'd say that practice is over and "Face The Facts" is Pawz true introduction to the world - an introduction that indiciates that this young L.A.-born and bred emcee is definitely hear to stay. Easily one of the best debuts of the year - excellent!

"Face The Facts" are being released by Below System Records (the same imprint that gave us another of 2014:s strongest outing with Shabaam Sahdeeq's "Keepers of the Lost Art") and are right now selling the album in digital format and as a three panel digipack CD. However Below System will be doing a run of the LP on wax, limited to 250 copies, and unlike all those fancy labels that choose to make new vinyl releases rare by pushing the prices to ridiciolous amounts, these 250 copies are not priced much higher than the CD which is a big thumbs up from me. The vinyl drops on September 26, and can be pre-ordered as a part of three different packages. Package #1 (the LP only), Package #2 (the LP + CD + three track cassette single of "The Luv" featuring Masta Ace) and Package #3 (same as #2 but also includes a Pawz One/Face The Facts T-Shirt). Via Bandcamp you can order the CD (which are shipping now) and cop the digital as well as stream the entire album which I have embeded below (notice that the player starts with track #8 just back up til' you come to track #1 before you hit play). PLAY IT LOUD.... A LITTLE LOUDER!!