Seez Mics is an emcee from D.C. who is part of the Crushkill family. He has been releasing music for nearly twenty years now, both as part of the group Educated Consumers, and more recently as a solo artist. For his latest effort, Live Long Enough to Learn, he joins the Strange Famous family as he becomes the latest to release on their digital label.

As the title of this album implies, this is some older, wiser hip hop that comes from an emcee who has not only been around for a while and learned a few things about making music and navigating the industry, he’s also recently made some big changes in his personal life recently, getting married and welcoming a baby daughter into his life. All this comes together to make an album that is about taking stock of the important things in life, reflecting on what’s been learned along the way, and what do you hope to accomplish going forward. There were a few indicators right away that this was a different album from Seez Mics, one being that his delivery was different. Seez Mics has this great low voice with a bit of a rasp to his delivery, and usually he projects his voice when he’s rapping to add a little bit of boom to it, much in the tradition of someone like KRS-ONE, so you get that extra weight added to your words. It works great in live settings when you’re trying to rock a crowd and talk some shit, but on this album in particular, Seez Mics is seeking to make something more conversational, so he scales it back and raps just a little bit quieter and more contained. The result is an album that sounds like you’re catching up with an uncle or somebody that’s been through a few things and wants to relay everything they’ve learned along the way. It helps that he gets some great production from L’Orange, Steve Bills, Cool Poindexter, Aupheus, Ardamus, Scott Kuzner, The Dopplegangaz, Max Bent, Doze, Ecid, and Prolyphic, all who provide more restrained and lo-fi beats, which match the tone of his words well. It all comes together for a listening experience that is intimate and thoughtful.

It’s always nice to see artists figure out how to transition their careers after they’ve been at it as long as Seez Mics has. It’s not that he’s gotten softer in his old age, because there are still moments on Live Long Enough To Learn where he still shows that he can flex on ‘em when he wants to, but at this point in his life and his career, he wanted to deliver a different type of project, one that can be about conversation and learning.