Buzzing Los Angles artist Trev Deshon releases his debut album Stessin'. This album is filled with ambitious lyrics and lit themes. The South Central emcee's perseverance is evidence of ups & downs in his journey. He illustrates this beautifully throughout the project.
In certain songs such as "Patience", "The Beginning" and "Mistakes" you can hear the hunger and hard work his lyricism. From Dreaming big in"The Beginning" to learning from "Mistakes" he is destined to make a name for himself along with making a big fortune from his work.
In the title track, the determination rings through the hi-hats to the pace of the beat that conveys a go-getter mentality. Trev admits that he stresses about thoughts on death, physically and career-wise. Trev also mentions stressing about his relationship with God while dealing with demons on earth. On "Prayer At 7" Trev discusses the perception of him to other people. His Granny is praying for him because holding his own can be deadly in the streets, but he keeps it cool. Trev smooth demeanor makes struggling look honorable because he is so confident in his come up.
"Demons and Demands", "High Alone" and "The Rant" are deeper and darker themes about taking risks. Even though he talks about fingernail biting situations, Trev's delivery comes across as monotone with minimal vocal infliction. This is not only with these songs but throughout the whole project. This delivery works the best with the "High Alone" beat with low tone notes and simple 808s. He also knows to match his vocal energy to various tracks however his delivery seems one-dimensional. L.A. artists are known for "Too cool for school" delivery. However, Trev doesn't add any personality to this style but that takes time to develop.
In other songs, that are most features, he fits in the current hip hop climate in a suave and impressive way. In instance, the "Can't Swim" instrumental sounds like a classier Gucci Gang with tasteful xylophone hits. This song features Casey veggies and Derrius Logan. The subject matter is presumptuous with foreseeable flows however the wordplay is nice. Greedy is a similar premise, the beat is a vibe with diverse sounds. The featuring artists Gerren and Xian Bell offer more lively vocal performances.
"Reflection" is the best example of Trev's vocal personality on the album. The song has stand-out production with an interesting sample that is well put together. Trev's melody-based flow goes well with the signifying lyricism. For the second verse, he double times this flow. The feature Rome Castille carries on Trev's flow. However, he cleverly switches it in mid-verse in a smooth manner.
Overall "Stessin'" is a good debut album. It is enjoyable with no bad songs and great beat selection. Trev Deshon does a good job in conveying what he is striving to accomplish while releasing quality sounding music. However, time will tell if he can evolve and stylistically provide innovating delivery.
Connect with Trev Deshon: Website | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify | SoundCloud
