Brandon Isaac is an artist from Cincinnati who only started releasing music a few years ago, but he has hit the ground running, showing a lot of growth and working on some interesting collaborations along the way. In August of last year, he teamed up with a producer from Los Angeles named Free Mind to release an album called The North Star. Now they are back for round two, with The North Star: Love of the Art.

Sometimes you don’t need to fix what ain’t broken. In the case Brandon Isaac and Free Mind, they didn’t need to reinvent the wheel for round two, because they knew where the power of their music lies. And that’s in these relatively simple soul samples, chopped, flipped, and looped in really clever and creative ways, which helps set the emotional soundscape for Isaac on the mic. And when Brandon Isaac steps to the mic, he’s not doing anything crazy either. Instead, he’s just rapping at you in a clear and direct manner about his life – the ups and downs of personal relationships, his journey as an artist and as a young Black man trying to find his way, and his evolving views of the world. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but when this type of music is done without any frills, but loaded with passion and honesty, it’ll hit harder than just about anything else. You’ll feel it on a deep level, like you’re having a one-on-one conversation with The North Star. It’s the type of album that you really just need to sit with and let the music soak in and grow on you with each listen, and maybe work through a few things yourself.

Brandon Isaac and Free Mind clicked on their first album together, but they’ve really locked in the second time through. They trusted themselves, and together they made a really beautiful and thoughtful album in the process with The North Star: Love of the Art.