Emcee Stik Figa recently moved from Topeka to the DFW area, so it is only right that his next release is a collaboration with one of Dallas’s finest producers, Rob Viktum. Together, they have joined forces to release the album All God’s Dangers.

Rob Viktum is a veteran with a versatile tool set at his disposal. He can throw down some beats that bang, but he can also get more intimate and soulful with his beats, such as the gospel/hip hop project he did with Krum, Bare Knuckle Gospel. Stik Figa can also throw down with some crowd pleasing bangers, but he’s also taken the time over the course of his career to scale things back and get intimate and bare his soul on some tracks as well. When it came time for Figa and Viktum to work together, it could have gone a number of different directions, but when you listen to All God’s Dangers, it becomes clear that they got on the same page and decided that a more subdued hip hop album was needed at this point in their career. As a producer, Viktum does a great job of crafting beats with a lot of space to them that allows Stik Figa’s lyrics to stand front and center, but there’s also plenty of rhythmic and melodic interest, and some key soul and gospel samples along the way that really reinforce the message and feeling of the album. As for Stik Figa, this album is largely about coming to terms with the curveballs that life has thrown his way, whether it be the end of his marriage, the twists and turns of the music business, or uprooting his life in Kansas to come to Texas. He lays it all out on the table, the good, the bad, and the ugly, trying to not cast judgment on anyone, just trying to make sense of what God and the universe might have in store for him. It’s the type of album that sounds good on the first listen, but when you go back and let it all sink in, you begin to realize just how much these two have packed into this deceptively simple album.

All God’s Dangers is the type of album you want to hear from a couple of veterans like Stik Figa and Rob Viktum. It’s understated, but it’s incredibly raw, soulful, and honest. It’s an album that you can really develop and personal relationship to as you continue to make your way through the tracks.