Shay D is an emcee from London that has been putting out music since the early 2010s. After a few mixtapes, singles, and EPs, she dropped her first album, A Figure of Speech, in 2016. Now, after spending time doing workshops, radio, and throwing shows, she’s ready to return with her sophomore album, Human Writes.

The first thing that hit me in listening to Human Writes is just how confident Shay D sounds on the mic. Rightfully so, since she’s much more experienced than a lot of artists going into their sophomore album, but it’s also great because when an emcee is confident in their skill set, it often also gives them the confidence to open up and take more chances on the mic, which Shay D does over and over again on the album. This includes pausing multiple over the course of the album to let Shay D recite some poetry a cappella, but it also means giving herself space to talk about personal relationships, mental health, and the barriers she’s had to overcome as an Iranian British woman navigating the world of hip hop. While there is plenty of room for vulnerability on the album, don’t get things twisted – Shay D will come for your neck on the mic if she has to, as demonstrated on songs like “Spit For Me,” which not only features some killer battle raps, it also comes in with some well-placed, “Finish him!” vocals to drive the point home. Over the course of the album, she’s working with producers such as Tony Bones, Dos Gringos, Nutty P, Micall Parkinson, and A Class For Redbull. Together, they help her find a balance between Grime, Boom Bap, and Trap that serve her really well as unravels her story song by song.

Shay D has a lot on her mind going into her second album, and she does an excellent job of letting it all out on the mic on Human Writes. She’s weaving together different styles of hip hop as she also brings together issues of identity, mental health, and personal relationships, alongside battle raps and poetry, all in a coherent manner that flows well from start to finish. That’s no easy feat.