Somebody Up There Loves Me (Blue and White Vinyl LP)

With his latest, Somebody Up There Loves Me, Stalley preaches the word without coming off preachy. He balls out without being bombastic. It’s a masterclass in rapping from the first bars of Red Light. He artfully shifts from a technical double-time to a conversational spill that makes you feel like you’re riding shotgun. With the passage of time, his voice has descended into a resounding gravelly boom that lends itself to his immutable parables of game.

With impeccable beat section from producers BAM, KFisha, Black Diamond, MadKeys, and MMG visionary Namir Blade, Stalley summons a sumptuous soul that feels warm and nostalgic without resorting to retromania. It offers a life-affirming gravity to his declaration that “God, family and morals” are everything that he stands on. Over the Dilla Bap orchestration that channels the late great Motown producer, Stalley drops lightning bolts of wisdom and dazzling rhyme schemes that concisely summarize the perils of the rap game.