Myka 9 is, of course, one of the true legends of the underground, having been part of the Good Life and Project Blowed, contributing to groups like Freestyle Fellowship and Haiku D’etat, and having a very long solo career as well. Even this deep into his career, he shows no signs of slowing down, having just this year already released collaborative albums with AbnormaL Injustice and Slippers. Now he delivers his third release of the year by teaming up with Minneapolis producer Adriatic to drop In Motion.

One of the things about In Motion that hit me right away is just how subtle and minimal Adriatic’s production is on the album. This isn’t to say it’s simple – far from it – but that there’s a real intimate and low key quality to the beats that helps reign in the bombastic showman side of Myka 9 and get him to focus on the introspective and personal side of his artistry. This means that while he’s still singing and rapping and giving you complex flows, he’s scaling back his delivery to focus on the lyrics just a little more, so that you can make that personal connection to the music and see the vulnerable side of Myka 9. This comes through with songs like “All Seeing,” “In My Reality,” or “Granted.” Part of this album is looking forward and pushing each other to do better as a society, but there’s also a part of this album that is about looking back on your life and taking stock of what you’ve accomplished, who you’ve connected with, and how your life has been fulfilled up until this point. It’s about appreciation, mindfulness, and gratitude, and it’s about not taking anything for granted. While this is happening, Adriatic is carefully and thoughtfully guiding your ears with these gentle and warm beats that encourage you to lean in and listen just a little bit closer than you might usually do.

A lot of artists in Myka 9’s place might have slowed down already. They would have maybe released one album every few years, if they hadn’t stopped altogether, and they might have just been content to recycle material. Not Myka 9. In his third release of the year with just as many collaborators, he continues to push and challenge himself as well as his listeners. Adriatic does a great job here in helping usher out a side of Myka 9 that we don’t always get to see, at least not over the course of nine songs.