“Y = Self” Introspectively Reminds the Underground of Raz Fresco’s Dexterity as an MC & as a Producer (Album Review)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee/producer Raz Fresco self-producing his 18th studio LP. I’ve been familiar with the guy since my high school years at this point whether it be some of his features or his own extensive discography including the Magneto Was Right mixtape series, the Futurewave-produced Gorgeous Polo Sportsmen album, the Nicholas Craven-produced Boulangerie album, the Cake beat tapes, the Gia…À La Carte collab EP with Estee Nack or more recently the Cookin’ Soul produced Bakin’ Soul, the Daniel Son collab effort Northside & the DJ Muggs-produced The Eternal Now. Coming off Stadium Lo Champions however, he’s back 15 months later for Y = Self.

“It Don’t Stop” begins with a mellow yet rugged intro promising to do his thing as long as the sun’s shining whereas “Borders” goes for more of a drumless vibe to talk about generational madness. “The Living Light” instrumentally embraces a warm boom bap direction boasting his capability of turning muhfuckas’ worlds off balance leading into “Can’t Let Go” soulfully talking about people making themselves prisoners of the street life.

Continuing from there, “The Blind” returns to the boom bap telling the detractors that they can pretend he isn’t successful as much they as want just before “What’s Really Real?” begins to question the idea of authenticity in hip hop itself from his perspective. “The Deaf” ends the 1st half on a rugged note talking about trying to break the cycle of generational pain while “Mayday” kicks off the 2nd half cautioning that one can’t refund the game.

We have The 6th Letter making Y = Self’s only guest appearance during “Memoires” talking about having recollection of your life when it’s all said & done while “Specialize” soulfully details him becoming an expert at getting what’s his. “The Dumb” concludes the trilogy of songs in which “The Blind” began & “The Deaf” bridged while “L.I.F.E. (Learning by Intelligent Forms of Energy)” symphonically talks about him trying not to preach on the microphone since that’s what churches are for.

“Censorship” gets the album’s final act going with a darker atmosphere talking about there being levels of certified gangsta shit occurring at all times while “PlzTllMe” demonstrates Raz’ ear for samples once more, flipping a soul track & making knowledge born on the microphone at the exact same time. The closer “Euphoria’s Formula” sends of the Toronto veteran’s first full-length in over a year with a soulful outro speaking directly from the heart.

The last time Raz Fresco produced an entire body of work for himself was Pocket Operations III: Breakfast in Berlin back in 2023 so considering the solo run he’s been on these past couple years, I was excited for Y = Self considering how much I loved Bakin’ Soul or The Eternal Now & I can say he gave an introspective opus that further cements his place as one of the underground’s most respected voices over 15 years since I initially heard his verse on Ace Hashimoto’s “Super Smash Bros.” as a teenager.

Score: 8/10