About the LP: Writing about personal struggles familiar to many of us, New York MC Breez Evahflowin's new release is a personal and thoughtful album about adjusting to extreme life changes. Taking a hiatus from NYC, Breez is forced to uproot himself from his only known home in New York to reposition himself in the woods of Asheville North Carolina. Through a steady stream of beats from NYC producer Dave "Daveytree" Archuletta via internet, he is encouraged to thoroughly explore his innermost thoughts free of distraction and competition. It is also through these beats that he deals with the diagnosis of his mother's cancer and passing, which ultimately brings him back to NYC (see track #8 "Moms"). A combination of pain, anger, loss, triumph, despair, fortitude and hope in the face of life's challenges, delivered just as the nation and the world adjust to the extreme changes that have been predicted to come. Track #2 "Luck vs. Skill," and the exclusive single "Over" features guest lyrics from Harlem's very own Swave Sevah (The Source Magazine "Best Unsigned Hype" of 2008), and introducing veteran Bill T. Jones performer Shaneeka Harrell on vocals in her hip-hop debut. Review from Hip Hop DX: Throughout the tenure of his career, Breez Evahflowin has been known as the pensive emcee. His allegiance to Hip Hop collective Stronghold (Poison Pen, C-Rayz Walz [click to read], Immortal Technique [click to read] and DJ Static) propelled them all to middle management stardom, several steps above their peers in the crowded albeit gritty New York City underground. While nods from MTV could have led to Breez altering his flow to swim the mainstream, he remains the thoughtful storyteller as he delivers his Breez Deez Treez. The album maintains Breez's thematic means of offering peeks into the mind of the man, not the mic-controller. However, this time around the intensity is turned up several notches, and the result is a brilliant audio memoir. That's not to say that the entire work is pockets full of poignancy, but it's more of an "If you don't know, now you know" for those who really don't. Breez opens with "Background Music", a journey into the life of a man who thinks he's smoked it all away, "I couldn't see the signs my mind was into pot / I smoked away the best damn days that I got." A lot of Breez Deez Treez leans on Breez questioning his success and weighing the reasons why he hasn't reached the proverbial next level. Skills are no question, as "I Know" examines his undeniable lyricism fueled by a love of the craft, carrying into the self-explanatory "Luck vs. Skill" with Swave Sevah and Ike P. "Dot Dot Dot" shifts gears, as a graphic tale of witnessing a mother's murder through the eyes of her child and how that story walks with her for her entire life. A handful of tracks, including "Let 'Em Know", "When You Fall", and "Rope" serve as fillers with Breez's strong lyrical growl. However, the heart of Breez Deez Treez lies in two specific tracks - "Moms," a heartfelt ode to one of the most important women in his life who died of cancer, as he spends the track cursing the disease but pushing through to make his mother proud. The second, "I Failed" finds Breez the most open, dissecting his solo career and that of his Stronghold kinfolk, blaming himself for not achieving the success he envisioned for them. Breez Evahflowin undoubtedly moved through many mindstates as he penned Breez Deez Treez. Having the gumption to put it out there is what makes this album remarkable. It's not everyday that a rapper can wear his heartbreak on his lapel, completely absent of 808s. While Breez may still be wondering if the world truly appreciates him, putting those questions to music is perhaps his most powerful answer. Review from Rapreviews.com: Breez Evahflowin :: Breez Deez Treez :: Domination Recordings as reviewed by Susan 'susiQ' Kim It is the reality that everyone has their own battles. Even with his big break on MTV's "Direct Effects," proving victorious as a vicious battle rap champion and as an integral part of the Stronghold Movement consisting of Poison Pen, C-Rayz Walz, DJ Static, and Immortal Technique, New York's Breez Evahflowin lives to tell about his own struggles. Relocating to North Carolina and working with producer Dave Archuletta via internet, Breez honed in on his skills as a more insightful emcee and used his own knowledge to manifest through his music. With the time to gather his thoughts and reflect on his most personal accounts, Breez utilizes his unique artistry for his latest album "Breez Deez Treez." "Breez Deez Treez" explores a new side to Breez Evahflowin that reveals his contemplative thoughts and feelings while exposing the truth behind his rhymes. As he maintains the constant fervor and vehemence that has never seemed to cease through the years, Breez delves deep into a journey of self-exploration and the reality of life-long conflicts. The album commences with an example of this sentiment in "Background Music" which shows poor choices and harmful influences have negatively affected him as he says, "It would have popped by now my fifth album would have dropped/I could have just dwelled on what I could've got." It is apparent that his past actions weigh heavy on his conscience in "Over" and "I Failed" which confirms how he feels solely accountable for the lack of success of the Stronghold Movement, yet he acknowledges he never stopped trying as he professes: "Cause everyone that I run with is true And when done and said What did I prove? So much more I wanted for you I tried, I failed To put us on top We all about as good as it got As a combo Stronghold stood as the rock It's a long road from the hood to the props I tried, I failed, but I never stopped" It's a shame that Breez constantly doubts himself and his accomplishments because he is in fact, a skillful artist. Fortunately, after all the confession of shame, Breez finally recognizes his skills as an emcee in "Luck vs.Skill" featuring Swave Sevah and Ike P and accepts that his hard work in the rap game has definitely paid off in "I Know." His self-reflection deepens in "Within Me" as he is "attempting to break the hate within me" and realizes his inclination to help others in need in "Rope." Another side to Breez takes shape in his more profound tracks in the perhaps fictional or factual "Dot, Dot, Dot" which recounts the life of child who was once witness to her mother's murder by her father and later reunites with him when she is older before he his executed because the tragedy seemed to have follow her through the years. Breez's most poignant track, "Moms," shows his relationship and appreciation for his mother who lost her battle to cancer. In this touching story of love and loss, Breez provides a detailed account from beginning to end of what mother's pain and suffering and how he has slowly learned to cope with the misfortune as he says: "The doctor said they going to bury my mom soon And by the doom, consumed I spill a tomb all alone in my room I don't zoom back Of how the daylight strike Living room cracks In mama room black This a true fact, but I never knew that... It's hard to swallow tomorrow without your loved ones Cussing at these f**kin' diseases and who discovered 'em The big "C" is a mother, son" It is both familiar and comforting when one can relate to an artist as Breez transports his audience to this level. Although he leaves behind the once forceful, intense effervescence, he in turn, uncovers a more restrained and insightful character in "Breez Deez Treez" that has never been seen before. Undoubtedly, Breez Evahflowin is one of those souls who truly understands what true hip hop once was and is supposed to be as this knowledge clearly transcends through his music.