The second installment of a 12-part EP saga from Flint, Michigan host and producer Jon Connor to celebrate Valentine’s Day weekend. He’s been on a roll for the past 20 years, including The Calling, Vinnie Chase and the SOS trilogy, as well as the World’s Finest series that pays homage to some of Jon’s influences, Redemption, While You Were Sleeping and The Unconscious State. He even signed with Aftermath Entertainment for six years before leaving after Vehicle City was shelved and Food for the Soul & 24, produced by No Limit Records’ in-house production team Beats by the Pound’s KLC, dropped nearly a month after the release of “I.”
Smitti Boi concocted a victory trap in the intro “Don’t Cry” talking about the shit God has for him, while “Random Thoughts” referenced current 8-time WWE World Champion CM Punk, earning himself the nickname “The Best in the World.” “The Acknowledgment” jazzily admits that there’s no easier way to reach higher than admitting that bullshit doesn’t stop us in “For Life For Real,” starring Mickey Factz, as the two talk about never letting anyone talk you down.
“Get It” picks up from the second half of the second installment, advising everyone he’s been watching so hard to go out and take what’s theirs, while “Completion” talks optimistically about being proud of having made it this far so that we can remember who we are during any hard times. “The Party” spends a few minutes venting about various people he’s been fed up with for a minute, while “Be Free” ends with talking about making peace from within and how things still haven’t changed 5 years later.
Now I can’t tell you whether Smitti Boi plans to make the other 10 feature-length dramas that Jon Connor has in store for the rest of the year, but I did enjoy II as much as I did, even if the general reception to its predecessor was divided. This album isn’t any different from last month’s EP in terms of stylistic diversity, with Jon still using his God-given talents to bring positivity to combat the negative energies our world experiences on a daily basis.
Rating: 7/10
