Personal Journal, Vol. 1 - Cliz
(Genre: Rap/Hip Hop)
Cliz is a local artist out of Florida on the rise. He's a rapper who will tell you upfront about how he didn't like rap earlier in life, as told in the "Dumb'd Down" interlude. He recalls that after his move to Florida he was introduced to Lil' Wayne (in his prime) and that changed his opinion. That moved him and his friends to try their hand at the artform and thus, Cliz was born. His love of wordplay has led him to start opening for bigger acts along the likes of Machine Gun Kelly & Caskey. He appeals to those who love the banging beats and clever wordplay, yet with this current project, it gets personal.
Relating to your audience is one of the most important things an artist can focus on when creating a project. That is made an apparent goal from his album's title, "Personal Journal". I can say without a doubt that it has been achieved thoroughly. Cliz managed to give you many aspects of himself from track to track, all while mixing in a few wordplay laden songs. Topics can range from his hip hop origin story & making music to help his listeners to money controlling politics & the time we spend just trying to get by. This all flows smoothly together with the help of skits, poetry, and clips that make the journey cohesive.
Cliz's style has a very mainstream appeal like Mac Miller with southern rap production, excluding two tracks "Another Day in the Lab" and "One Day". He also sings a good amount of choruses and occasionally parts of verses, which is the only thing that is inconsistent in quality. At times, his tone and pitch can be noticeably worse than his lyrical ability. Cliz is very good at relating his thoughts in interesting ways whether straightforward or through clever analogies. This making him a pretty easy listen for casual listeners and hip hop heads alike as his personality is present in each bar.
I can highly recommend this project to anyone who enjoys hip hop about life and rap itself. My favorites would have to include "No More", the album's triumphant closing track with Cliz's passionate delivery and confident defiance. "Another Day in the Lab" has a chill boom bap approach with his dedication to making meaningful music as the main topic. The production throughout the project makes it easy to bounce to as the energy is never lost. In summary, it's an enjoyable album that will be a good one to throw on when you're looking for some substance from a hip hop underdog.
You'll leave remembering his message: May Nothing Stop You!
For more on Cliz, I advise you check out:
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