Last year, Twin Cities emcee Kristoff Krane released his first album in five years when he dropped Kairos – Part One. It was a brilliant and challenging album with production from Graham O’Brien that pushed the boundaries of what hip hop could sound like. Of course, when an album has Part One in the title, you’re always going to wonder when the next volume is coming, and what it could sound like. Well, the wait is over, because Kairos – Part Two is here.

Kairos – Part Two is an interesting album, because when you see the same emcee and producer delivering the second volume of a project, it’s natural to assume that you’ll be getting more of the same. That’s not the case with this project, though. While you still have Krane and O’Brien working together, there is a very distinct vision for each volume that now becomes apparent. Both volumes are these abstract, philosophical journeys into the mind of man, and questions about the nature of good and evil. The first volume was a loud, noisy, and confrontational album, one that was very deliberately trying to push listeners out of their comfort zones and readjust their expectations. There’s nothing close to a pop song on it, and Krane is adept at these stream-of-consciousness flows, which works perfectly on a project like this. With the second volume, you’re still not getting any pop songs, but you are definitely getting an album that is the yin to Part One’s yang. It’s noticeably calmer in tone, with a lot more space to the compositions, and with noticeably slower tempos. There’s still a dark and eerie tone, such as on “AL7ONE,” which uses whistles, keyboard arpeggios, guitar distortion, echo effects on the drum, and the occasional vocal effect to create this real sense of discomfort as Krane drops these lines with vivid abstract imagery that bring to question why humans have a hard time existing in harmony with the rest of the planet. It’s because of the depth of information and great care that Krane and O’Brien put into their project that you’ll constantly be rewarded each time you back and listen to the album once again. O’Brien is incredibly inventive and versatile as a producer, and he strikes just the right balance in working with Krane on Part Two, ramping things up and pushing Krane to change up his flow, but he also knows when to dial things back and get out of Krane’s way and just let those words pour out of his brain and onto the mic.

Kairos is a project that might be a little bit difficult to digest at first, because it is so unusual. If you really take the time to get to know both volumes, you’ll start to realize just how special these two albums are. Part Two is incredibly well thought out, and Krane and O’Brien prove themselves to be some of the most innovative minds working in hip hop right now.