SOUL Purpose

With production from both the Bay Area (Koncepts) and New York City (Zvi), and a solid rapping foundation (Mazzi), the debut album from the Soul Purpose trio is one hell of a house party soundtrack. Breaking Records covers a lot of ground with different styles, flows and concepts, as well as beats that alternate from the battle/party end of the spectrum to the introspective/ballad side. If there’s any problem, it’s that the album is just too damn long. Of the 24 tracks, nine are of the short intro/interlude/outro variety that breaks up the flow of the album as much as it gives the album cohesion. It’s also a little odd that there’s only four solo tracks, while the other 11 songs feature a plethora of guests both better known (Pumpkinhead, the Juggaknots, C-Rayz Walz, Wordsworth and Kirby Dominant) and unknown. Mazzi holds his own, but it’s really the variety of guest artists that prevents Breaking Records from sounding too long. It’s nice to hear a range of voices and flows. But, through it all, the highly underrated Percee P comes out on top with "Lung-Collapsing Lyrics Part II,” the album’s heavyweight highlight. A must-have for your next party.