Wrekonize – “Pressure Point” (Album Review)
Wrekonize is a 37 year old MC & producer based in Miami, Florida who’s been around for almost 20 years at this point. Starting out in the battle circuit, he eventually put out a total of 3 mixtapes throughout the 2000s before coming out with his full-length debut A Soiree for Skeptics in 2010. However, it wouldn’t be until the following year when he signed to Strange Music as a solo artist & as a member of the group ¡MAYDAY!. His 2013 sophomore effort The War Within would go onto receive critical acclaim & was followed up in 2017 with Into the Further. But as we approach near the end of 2020, Wrekonize is completing the trilogy by dropping his 4th full-length album.
After the “We’ll Be Waiting for You” intro, we get into the first song “The Fallen”. Where Wrek talks about being in Hell over a settle trap beat from The Xtraordinaire$. The next song “Be Me” talks about uniqueness over a rock-flavored instrumental & after the “Tell Me Your Symptoms” skit, the track “Lights Off” talks about his mind always movin’ over a trap beat from Seven with a plinky xylophone.
The song “Wits’ Ends” talks about being more anxious than ever over a bleak instrumental while the track “For the Likes” takes aim at clout chasers over acoustic trap beat. After the “State of the World” skit, the song “Low Water” gets on the wisdom tip over an scary-sounding beat while the track “Sedentary Moments” talks about how he used to sit & dream as a kid over a laidback boom bap beat.
The track “Anyweigh” is literally a spousal argument on wax backed by a woozy instrumental from Leonard DStroy while the song “High Water” talks about breaking free from the cage of stress over a trap beat with some psychedelic guitar passages. The track “Simple Back Then” looks back on his childhood over a soothing instrumental while the song “Oakland” is a slow, R&B jam written towards his partner. After the “Separate Yourself” skit, the track “Zombies” talks about freeing the listeners’ minds over a foreboding trap instrumental while “The Man Under the Bridge” talks about homelessness over a funky beat.
The self-produced “Call for My Name” pays tribute to Valerie Ryan over some prominently knocking drums & after the “Couple Last Stories” skit, “The Coldest Dish” is a tearjerking tribute to Wrek’s parents & brother backed by a trap beat with some somber piano-chords. The closer “Still Around (Down) talks about his desire to live without fear over a grungy trap instrumental & then the bonus cut “Detonate” with Tech N9ne & UBI finds the trio talking about losing their minds over a full-blown dubstep beat.
Wrekonize has always been one of the most standout artists on Strange Music & to me, this is right behind The War Within for his magnum opus. The production choices have improved greatly in comparison to Into the Further, the concept is so articulately put together & does a fantastic job of showing the listener where he’s at right now mentally.
Score: 9/10
