Ever since the release of his last album, Face been in counter with alot of personal and career issues. His weight has dropped dramatically to avoid serious health issues, he had to do time in prison for unpaid child support, his relationship with Rap A Lot was strained and he felt that he was held hostage on the label. It was a dark couple of years for the Houston legend. But what makes Face so gifted is his ability to translate that pain into his music.
Now in his mid 40s. Face started to bring brand new changes in his life. He decided to go Independent for the first time in his career, He lost 100 something pounds, and wanted to introduce his new vision to the world. His twelfth titled Deeply Rooted is possibly Face’s most personal album which follows ground to the Fix. He sounds more spiritually awakened than before, more focused, and ready to prove that he’s still that OG. He lays his resume’ down on the album’s first single No Problem for reminders:
Greatest ever done it, you can learn from it
Dope game; ran it – rap game; run it
Street cred hundred, nerd turned D-boy
Naughty genetic make-up, baby, I’m a G-boy
Hashtag street-boy, wrong one to fuck with
Cross me at your own risk, play to get back, you can trust this
I am far from average, to me it ain’t no such thing
Me against the world so fuck it I let my nuts hang
I’ve been known to bust bang, Kíli of the NEB
I don’t need an army when the smoke clears, he sees me
Rhyming at its finest unlike those vaginas
They claim that they the real deal knowing I’m the highest
Time for the command chain, I am what the streets made
I am what the hood built, you are just a weakling
Homocidal maniac with suicidal tendencies
You’re more like a punk band, I’m more like a pedigree
Nigga, you ain’t seen yet so y’all can not describe me
I’m a freak of nature, Don’t shit here surprise me
Money over everything except a nigga’s manhood
But surprisingly the rest of the album doesn’t share that same hardcore prospective as that first single. Face comes across more as a visual picture painter and someone whom is in quest of searching for the answers of his own mortality. He proves he can still spit street tales amongst the best of them on “Rooted“, “Fuck You“, and Dope Man pushing.
Many people may be a bit dissapointed with the R&B features but they do justice in complimenting Face’s direction for the project. The album’s 2nd street Single God has Face soul searching for the explanation behind God’s motives. He would also elaborate what he would do if he had the powers of the creator:
If I had to play God for a day I would open up the gates let the world see my face
Remove all doubt from the ones without the faith
And put them on the path of the straight
A safe place, for the young to come out if they want to play
I let their mommas know that they ok
And when y’all pray, I’ll respond so you can all see a sign
And answer every pray one at a time
If I’m God huh
All the stabbings all the war would come to cease
My whole entire hood would be at peace
No more beef
And you could sleep without the fears of being woke
By the sounds of sirens, screams of people being smoked
No more dope you don’t need it
You’ll be cured of all diseases
Your whole entire life would be deleted
Mental Exorcism(which is ironically the album’s best track) has Face reflecting on the current events and tragedies going on within the Black Community. The track is very somber and you can feel Face’s sadness throughout his words. The video visuals bring more life to the song:
Face’s battle with depression is still mentioned throughout Deeply Rooted. As revealed in his book Diary of a Madman, It plays a heavy part in his life and definitely his music. The track Voice’s explore those painful demons that Face been battling his whole life. The track Anything also covers how his limits to go in getting paid parallels with his depression.
As for guest appearances, Z-Ro appears on the Aforementioned Fuck you and joins Face along with Nas and Rick Ross on the very smoothed out Do What I Do. Ross sound’s very comfortable in his lane of rapping over soulful production and Nas continues to show that even in his 40s, Theres no stopping him. Z-Ro also proves that with a golden opportunity, He could be the next go too man for catchy hooks.
I’m pretty sure heads whom grew up on Face’s dark and sinister material such as Born Killer, Seen a Man Die, and Sorry 4 What maybe dissapointed with this direction. This is Face’s best produced album since The Fix and he sounds more alive and freely on here than before. Definitely one of the best albums of 2015 and worth adding.
Vic rating 10 outta 10
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