For starters i would like to give a brief background on this artist Justin Hibbert [i], the brain child behind these innovative and sexually driven [i] projects. Justin Hibbert [i] reared his head in 2012 under only the name "i" with basically no pictures of him other than a shirtless spary paint picture and a couple silhouette type face shots. An approach reminding me of another upstart The Weeknd in terms of its delivery and promotion. His debut under the name [i] was a reggae based sound with a psychedelic twist, i thought this was something very special in terms of its "spiritual" honesty and newness to the production that I have not seen since Kanye West or 40 introduced their sounds to hip-hop. Not to mention Justin Hibbert [i] is his own standing Producer([Prod. i]) and Engineer, thus adding to the skill and control of the vision Justin Hibbert [i] has exuded through his releases. Spending the majority of 2013 releasing club based mixes as a DJ (Stanki Face) and releasing Pop music under his birth name Justin Hibbert, [i] was very silent in terms of the underground sound he began with. Little did i know "Initiation" was secretly be crafted in the array of Justin Hibbert's club music.
"Initiation" begins with a single soft synth that immediately just has that "feeling" very similar to how i felt when someone would turn on Drake's song Successful. Growing into a full on choir "All The Kings" is a true statement the terms of the growth in sound. After the first hook Justin Hibbert [i] begins with no sense of hesitation behind lyrics like "A wise man once said there can be another Jesus" and "but this altitude has me suffocating on success" he seems to have gained a very noticeable bravado.
Following the albums intro is "Only Proof" a saxophone led ode to money and the ways someone must get to it, speaking on life on the road and it's ramifications. Later followed by the feature heavy "Boombox" with guest verse from indie rap god Sole and NYC's Troy Ave. This track is like the definition of hip-hop, the guest feature choices are some of the best i've seen in awhile. I can honestly say i never thought i'd hear "Bottle Of Humans's" Sole rapping with Troy Ave, rap's newest version of coke rap. For some reason it all works and truly believe that is because Justin Hibbert [i] is glue in the genre gaps between those two artists.
After showing his long lost reggae sound in "Babylon" we get to hear a bit more of this man's personal life in "Lost Beauty". "Lost Beauty" is the one sad song on "Initiation" and speaks of a seemingly lost model and might be the sequal to the song "Meditations" the interlude on his debut album. Like many of the singer's on this project the hook is sang by an unnamed yet talented artist. I truly recommend this track to any of Justin Hibbert [i]'s female fan base. This track is followed by Project Pat featured song "Blacked Out" which is for me a reach in terms of Justin Hibbert [i]'s gangster prowess but 100% shows how many different demographics receive this truly universal sound.
"Pole" comes in at track number 7 and is Justin Hibbert [i]'s raw take on strippers and that life in general. I think he may have been spending a bit to much time in strip clubs during his time in ATL. My favorite part of this song may surprisingly be the added Jacob Miller sample still showing the reggae roots these [i] projects started in. After seemingly promoting stripping the sample repeats "dont let money full ya girl" give a bit more layers to the song indeed. "International" follows with a similar beat featuring UK newcomer Janai.
The outro to "Initiation" is the track "Naked" which stood out to me maybe the most on the whole album. With promotional pictures of Justin Hibbert [i]'s hands on white womens butt i was wondering how sexual he was gonna get on the album. Interstly he got so sexual on the "Naked" to the point of actually hving sex on the track. Throughout the song you can hear moans of a seemingly very satisfied lady which i must say is very fitting giving the tracks title. I was left saying "Take it off" the whole next couple days. With an encore bonus track Justin Hibbert [i] closes "Initiation" with a freestyle that may be the best i have ever heard him rap in the 2 years he has been releasing music. Take a listen.
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