Awon is an emcee from Newport New, Virginia who has been releasing music for over a decade. His last effort came just about one year ago, when he teamed up with producer Phoniks to release the album, The Actual Proof. Now he comes back with a new solo album, Soulapowa.

Even though this is a solo album, Soulapowa is in large part a family affair, since the majority of the album is still produced by longtime partner Phoniks, along with beats from Dread Solo, Mz Boom Bap, SoulChef, Linkrust, and Dugga. On top of that, we get a couple of guest verses from friend and labelmate Anti-Lilly. At this point in his career, Awon isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel or anything, he’s just trying to be the best version of himself, and that version is a classic East Coast emcee, rocking with some soulful boom bap, telling stories, talking shit, and making a few social observations. It’s nothing too crazy, but this is a time-tested formula that works, and everyone here is really good at what they do, especially Awon. He has a nice rasp to his voice on the mic and a really smooth and conversational flow that just makes it feel like your catching up with an old friend when he hops on the mic and does his thing. My personal favorite on the album is “Easy on Yourself,” which has some great production from Phoniks that sounds like a peaceful Sunday morning with a great soul sampling hook, and some great personal lyricism from Awon that details his struggles with mental health, and just trying to make ends meet. It’s a fairly straightforward song, but it’s executed so well and with so much soul, it just becomes really easy to relate to and form a relationship with.

Sometimes you don’t have to overthink it. Awon is a veteran emcee, and he knows what he’s about when it comes to making his style of hip hop. Soulapowa is straightforward, but it’s soulful, thoughtful, and really well executed.