Skizza is an emcee from Saskatchewan who has been releasing music as a solo artist for about the last eight years. His most recent album came out just about a year ago, when he teamed up with AK Productions to drop Beautiful. Now he’s come right back with another full-length album, Bridge City Underdog.

For Bridge City Underdog, Skizza reached out to a German producer named Yakuzy, who likes to make boom bap beats influenced by the likes of J Dilla, 9th Wonder, and Pete Rock. This is to say that Bridge City Underdog is full of laid back and soulful mid-tempo beats with nice pockets for Skizza to hop on and just start spitting his rhymes. It’s the type of album that is so comfortable and familiar, you just feel like you’ve always been rocking to it the first time you listen to it. Yakuzy does find time to switch things up, bringing in some Houston influence on “Grind,” or delivering gentler production for intimate tracks like “Tomorrow,” or just finding the perfect vocal sample to cut up on a song like “Fall Again.” For the most part, Skizza is talking his shit and having fun coming up with some clever wordplay, but Skizza also leaves enough room to spread out and some more serious songs as well. So while he might be rapping hard and claiming space on songs like the title track or “Grind,” there is still room for earnest discussion of global politics on a songs like “Inverted Flags,” or the moving and personal hopes and dreams of “Tomorrow.” Skizza’s also bringing in a few friends to join in the fun, like Ghettosocks, Rel McCoy, The Mighty Rhino, and Bex. While they all add their own flavor, Bex’s vocals on “Tomorrow,” really take the song to a special place and makes it one of the standout tracks on the album.

Bridge City Underdog is the type of well-rounded album you hope to hear from a veteran artist like Skizza. It’s fun and soulful, full of great head nodding beats and skillful wordplay, with some really special moments spread throughout to take everything up a notch.