Artist(s): Gemstar
Album Name: Lessons of Life, The Mixtape
Year of Release: 2011

 

 

So, if you are from the bay area, you have probably heard ABOUT or heard Gemstar DIRECTLY. His talent is undeniable, and the young emcee hailing from Long Island; now residing in Florida, has definitely shown his ability to push past the common music of radio. In this latest release, LESSONS OF LIFE, THE MIXTAPE; Gem attempts to portray some "Real Life" content into his music, which actually makes his music extremely relevant to most everyday people.

 

The opening to the mixtape starts off well with an upbeat tempo that works perfect with Gemstar's flow. It's obvious from the first track that he is definitely comfortable with his own delivery. As the mixtape goes on, there seems to be recurring theme of singing hooks and bridges along with lyrical prowess on the verses.

 

Quite honestly, the singing is a bit much on some tracks like "Let Go" and "Call Me", but he makes up for it in some tracks like "Got No Home". It's obvious his style mixes in some singing and rapping, but for the most part he's going to want to tighten that up a bit more especially on the tracks that are a bit more dynamic in vocal ranges.

 

Other than that - this album is simply QUALITY! The range of music and mixture of sounds and style make this album one of the regular rotation. Some HEAT TRACKS to keep an ear out for are "Sent to Me" which has a GREAT MIX and separation of sounds. "Antidote" which features Kensta Lopez is also a great listen as well, with its "FEED YOUR MIND" lyrics. "Call Me" is a great track for the women, and while the guitar is a slight bit grunged out for this feel, it's not too heavy to still enjoy this track.

 

Overall this album was a keeper, and we look forward to hearing MORE of Gemstar's contribution to the Hip Hop game. Maybe a little ease off the singing tip and letting other people do that, or maybe work some more on the vocal trainings, and GEM will most definitely have a GEM of talent as his arsenal. He's already a HOT TOPIC, so DON'T SLEEP on a GREAT ARTIST!

 

 

  

 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://gemstarmusic.com/
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/#!/gemstarmusic