Sojournalism

Sojournalism: The Summer Articles, from San Diego's own Sojourn, is proof that performers do not have to resort to using clichés to prove their worth as artists. His spoken word/rap style infuses meaty tracks with solidity, while the lyrics are accentuated by his steady delivery and refusal to act like many of his hip-hop brethren. Sojourn shines with subtlety, rather than bombast.

Filled mostly with mid-tempo grooves, Sojournalism is an exercise in struggling to be a person of integrity in a world that is becoming banal, vapid, unaccountable. Sojourn calls it like he sees it and tells it like it is, and his tracks score big points for their refreshing honesty.

"All Things Considered" and "Road Less Traveled" possess tones of overcoming, of resisting the negative influences of the world. "Definitely Special" is a jam that couples will enjoy, and the hypnotic "The Craving" employs a muted-yet-lush piano loop to fill out the edges of this laid-back number that talks about the many addictions we allow to systematically destroy us.

Filled with thought-provoking lyrics and diverse melodies, Sojournalism is thinking man's hip-hop.

• Album title: Sojournalism: The Summer Articles (2009)
• Artist: Sojourn
• Label: Hip Hop Is Music
• Songs: (1) Welcome Intro (2) Expectations (3) Get Back (4) Art Verses Commerce (5) Fool's Gold (6) Human Resource (7) Say Something (8) Cause and Effect (9) Solutionists (10) The Craving (11) Civil War (12) 10,000 (13) Definitely Special (14) Road Less Traveled (15) All Things Considered (16) Sojournalism