OZU8LACK, aka Ozu, is a Birmingham emcee who has been putting out music for several years, as part of groups like 729 and 888 alongside his solo career. Just this past December, he put out a solo release called Memoirs: Diary of an Unknown Artist. Now he follows that up with the full-length album, Finding OZU.

One of the first things that will become apparent when listening to Finding OZU is what a great emcee Ozu is. He’s got a nice low voice that resonates well on the mic, and he rhymes with a southern twang that works well to add emphasis to certain words in bars. On top of that, he has a real knack for layering his lyrics in such a way that it really keeps you on your toes as a listener, ready with that pause and rewind. Over the course of the album, we get a lot of different looks from Ozu, rocking with some classic boom bap, some trap, and some Organized Noize-esque beats that find that sweet in-between spot. My personal favorite is when he works with some laidback soulful boom bap, because he has a really interesting way in which he toys with staying right in the pocket but will then play with moving his flow towards the top of the beat and then back into the pocket again. Nowhere is this done better than on “88 8’z.” This song also does an excellent job of showcasing the ways in which Ozu is able to weave together some trash talking, tales of his personal journey, and really smart social and political observations. The are two problems with the album, but both are minor. One is that the album does run a bit on the long side, with 16 tracks clocking in around just under an hour, it can be a lot to sit through in one sitting. It would have benefitted from just a little editing down to make it a tighter listening experience from start to finish. The other problem is that on a couple of the trap beats, such as on “Lokked & Loaded,” he falls into the typical triplet pattern that you hear so often these days, and it’s also in this situation where his lyrics just sound a little more generic as well. These are just some minor criticisms, but it is the difference between a really good album and a great one.

Finding OZU is a great step for OZU8LACK, and hopefully listeners outside of Birmingham will get hip to what those in the Magic City have known for a while, which is that this dude has bars.