Storm Davis

After years of procrastinating and lacking in self-esteem, Storm Davis has quit dabbling with hip-hop and poetry to finally drop his debut album. With this background, it’s not surprising that Kegstand Poetry for the Recovering Alcoholic is dark, melancholy hip-hop with a personal, diary-like feel to the lyrics. At 20 tracks in length, the emo can become a bit heavy, but that might also be due to most of the jokes falling within the first half of the album, particularly the beer-goggle sex of interlude "Like She Knew” and its accompanying song "She,” along with "Pauly From the Block,” one of the funniest skits put on record since R.A. the Rugged Man’s "Pick My Gun Up.” And with their typical emphasis on braggadocio, the handful of posse cuts — especially the two best, "Illest It Gets” with Symmetry and "Crazy MF” with Frankie Riptide — also offer a brief respite from the inner workings of the mind of Storm Davis. Still, it’s good to see someone unafraid to express himself honestly in hip-hop, and Storm is able to maintain interest in what he has to say with well-positioned wit and humour. With smooth production and Storm’s flow both updating the old school flavour, and then further combined with an abundance of cuts and scratches throughout, Kegstand Poetry will appeal to those looking for the throwback feel of an early ’90s rap album or Atmosphere-like emo hip-hop.