Substantial has been putting out albums for years, but the emcee hasn’t gotten the national coverage he’s deserved. Fortunately, as more attention is being focused upon the D.C. and Baltimore scenes, Substantial is set to get that recognition with his Mello Music debut. It’s the type of effortless release from a veteran emcee that feels so good, you’ll be kicking yourself that you weren’t listening to Substantial this whole time.

I’ve made no secret that I have a weakness for hip hop heavy on the soul samples and with a political edge to the lyrics, which puts Substantial right in my wheelhouse. For Home Is Where The Art Is, he enlists the help of UK producers SlopFunkDust and Eric Lau, Stuyvesants producer Algorhythm, Baltimore producer Street Orchestra, DC producer Surock, Australian producer M-Phazes, and of course labelmate Oddisee, who also served as executive producer. Together, they come up with some great soulful grooves that help bring out the best in Substantial. The album opens on a very strong note, with SlopFunkDust skillfully manipulating some Beach Boys-esque vocal harmonies to provide the background for a song that works as a self-empowerment anthem, “Spilled Milk.” It takes great care for a song like this to not end up incredibly cheesy, but Substantial pulls it off. He does this by presenting his own obstacles and how he deals with them and crafting a chorus that was obviously written to motivate himself. This then becomes universal, instead of the other way around, which usually comes across as transparent. It might seem like splitting hairs, but it’s the difference between a song that can pick you up and motivate you and some ridiculous song that just sounds forced and hokey. It’s a credit to the honesty in his lyrics, from the good and bad realities of his neighborhood and the music industry to his personal relationships that really makes his music special. A song like “Make Up Sex,” could easily have been goofy and come across as a novelty song, but instead it actually comes across very sweet and romantic while also providing some very realistic argument points that couples get into, but ends on a sweet note of reconciliation. On top of this, Substantial has a great delivery that is very confident and clear, which calls to mind Blueprint, especially in the way they use humor to cut through the tension of some very real conflicts within their lyrics. The two songs with M-Phazes are probably the weakest on the album, only in that they are markedly slower than the rest of the album and have grander pop-sensibilities with their sung choruses that just don’t fit in to the overall sound of HIWTAI.

Every once in a while you come across a new album from an artist you’ve never heard before, and it immediately sounds familiar. With the deep emotional connections made with the sweet production and stellar lyrical work on HIWTAI, the album felt like an old friend I just met. I’m sure I’ll be listening to Substantial for years to come.