Prizm

For Prizm’s third full-length album since debuting in March of 2003, the young rapper/producer has honed his skills and comes with a very polished sound. This cat is putting in work to succeed as Prizm demonstrates great skill as a storyteller and is also a capable battle rapper. Plus, he’s not afraid to open himself up and get personal on record. The production, which includes beats from all of his regulars plus a few of his own, is just as varied as the lyrical content. Unfortunately, there’s the occasional misstep into cheese when emotional lyrics encounter melodramatic music, like on the title track. But the results are great when it works, as on the powerful "Fine Line (Portrait of a Man),” which matches some slowly evolving, soaring strings with touching lyrics leading towards suicide, or the creepy, piano-heavy, battle-track "Day One (Get Down),” both produced by Prizm. He may be a little heavy on the emo with Soliloquy, but Prizm shows the skills necessary to succeed on this CD, which is likely to be just one more rung on his ladder to success.