Classified

Classified has been slowly working his way towards major label recognition with his hybrid hip-hop, which rests somewhere between the underground and commercial markets. Unpredictable, his newest self-released full-length, is his best yet and is likely to be the album that finds him getting signed within the year. While I'm kind of disappointed in some of the drum choices that give the album a jiggy feel, Classified demonstrates his skills as a producer by bringing in a number of unusual samples. The strings on "We'll Never Fall" and "Sound Off" were a pleasant surprise that, for me, added more meaning to the title Unpredictable. Lyrically, Classified has stepped up his skills, attempting compound rhyme schemes by rhyming more than just the last syllable of each line. Although Class does spend an inordinate amount of time on the subject of hip-hop props, he has expanded his subject matter to include the Junos and presenting a slice of his everyday life (that doesn't include gun slinging), amongst other things. There's no reason why Classified shouldn't be blowing up nation-wide once "everyone who is not dead" checks Unpredictable.