Upon arrival in Madison, it didn’t take that long before I was pointed in the direction of F. Stokes. While he hasn’t actually lived there in quite a while, he still comes back often to play shows and see friends and family. His back story of overcoming hard times is easy to dwell on as a writer, but that only gets you part of the way there. It’s the way he uses talents as both lyricist and performer to transform past pain into current joy that really separates him from the rest of the pack. If you haven’t yet been turned onto the power of F. Stokes music, Love, Always is a great place to start.

It’s only seven songs long, but I’ll always take a short release full of strong and varied material than a long album without enough good ideas to warrant the length. On the opening track, “Aspire & Inspire,” we get F. Stokes doing his best late-era Gil Scott-Heron, as he performs a spoken word piece over some beautiful production from Matt Brandau. Stokes discusses how instead of giving into the tough situations that life can deal us, we need to find our inner strength to rise above. If we can force ourselves to strive for something better, we’ll no doubt found others to help us along the way. If there’s a better way to introduce someone to what F. Stokes is all about, I don’t what it would be. “Beauty & The Beast,” is my least favorite song on the EP, if only because I feel like the chorus, while catchy, comes across a little too cute and might distract casual listeners from the real strength of the song, which is encapsulated in the verses. In them, he discusses how his relationship with his girlfriend has helped him confront issues with his self image. “Blessings” isn’t new material, but it’s such an incredible song on all levels, I don’t mind a repeat performance of it. From Lazerbeak’s production, to Mike Mictlan’s guest verse, to the brilliant interplay of cadence and wordplay on the chorus, and the painful and beautiful relation in the lyrics of being at the bottom looking up and knowing that it’s time to make a move to bring about some positive change…well, there’s a reason why this song has been quickly making it’s way up the list of my all time favorite hip hop tracks. “Decades” is a powerful song that presents a wonderful juxtaposition in moods, as the gentle chorus sung by The Clubhouse is balanced against lyrics delivered with a sense of urgency by Stokes. He’s being pulled in different directions by all sorts of tensions as he discusses the shooting of his cousin, amongst other things. “Jackie Bodean” is a song that I feel will get lost in the shuffle at first, but will gradually become to be appreciated. It’s got some slightly off-kilter production, with some backward drums, and echo and reverb can blur sounds a bit, and the lyrics are a bit more obtuse than other songs. “Love Warriors” reminds me of Digable Planets, and I mean that in the best way possible - it’s got a cool jazz vibe and a great flow to it. The EP closes on “My Simple,” a catchy song celebrating small town life. Produced by fellow Madison artist Man Mantis, it’s incredibly infectious, and manages to carefully walk the line between making commentary on small town life and embracing it. If it’s any indication as to the song’s appeal, the last time he played in Madison, he ended up playing the song twice in a row due to audience demand.

F. Stokes is a great artist, and he manages to find a balance between being a really interesting lyricist, delivering a strong message of hope while working through some personal demons, and crafting some really great hip hop songs that move from pop friendly to abstract. Love, Always is a short but very fulfilling journey.