Bag of Tricks Cat is an emcee from Glendale, Arizona who has been putting out music since 2012. Most recently, he worked with Mega Ran to release the album Emerald Knights 2 in June of last year. Now he comes back with his third solo album, Felix Chevrolet.

In case you’re wondering about the name, Bag of Tricks Cat has a grandmother named Ann Bennett, who sang the Felix the Cat theme song back in 1959. Felix had his magic bag of tricks, so the Glendale emcee decided to pay tribute to his grandmother with his name. For this particular album, Bag of Tricks Cat worked with producer G1, the Phoenix artist who also showed up on Emerald Knights 2. This is his first time producing a full-length album for someone, but you wouldn’t know it by how well this album comes together. He helps Bag of Tricks Cat achieve a modern R&B-flavored style of hip hop - pop friendly and very accessible. There are fun songs where Cat just talks his shit or rhymes about weed, such as “Higher Than I’ve Ever Been,” or “Roll My Own,” featuring Smoke DZA and Bookie. These are enjoyable, but you’re going to need a little bit more than that to make an album that becomes more than some fun songs to throw on at a party. Fortunately, Cat rounds out the album with more substance. “Bad Habits,” has Cat rhyming about self-examination and the struggle to do better. “Just Take It” sees Cat opening up about a past relationship that fell apart and trying to pick up the pieces, and “Road Blocks” has him going deep about the grind to make it as an independent artist. Where the album really becomes special, though, comes on the last two songs on the album, “Since You Went Away,” and “100 Years.” G1 moves the sound in a more traditional boom bap direction, building around samples of Cat’s grandmother, Ann Bennett, singing. This pushes Cat to really open up and get vulnerable on the mic, with “Since You Went Away” serving as a letter to his late grandmother, catching her up on what’s happened with the family and thanking her for her support. This then segues to “100 Years,” which is a barnburner with Cat talking his shit and really showing off his technical skills on the mic, with G1 making brilliant use of chopping up Bennet’s vocals to serve as her grandson’s hype man.

Felix Chevrolet is a strong next step from Bag of Tricks Cat, who has been steadily working his way up the ladder for the better part of this decade. It’s very accessible and entertaining, but still leaves room for some deep personal moments as well.