Packing For The Moon by Micheal Moon

@MichealMoon

     The moon landing, one of the most significant events to ever happen not just for America, but the entire world. On December 31st, Micheal Moon released his 15-track album in hopes of doing something as big as the moon landing, just in Hip-Hop. Micheal grew up in Brooklyn, New York and this upbringing is noticeable in his energy and style as a rapper.This project will only be free on bandcamp for a limited time then it's off to ITunes for this project.

     Production often varies based on where an artist is from. Being from Brooklyn, I was expecting smooth boom-bap rap and this album definitely has that, but for the most part it creates it's own sound. The album was produced The Architect. This is the first I've heard of his work and it really surprised me. I love albums that are produced entirely by one producer, because it makes for a more cohesive sounding project. Though this duo is no Blu & Exile, the two still did a great job at having the same goal for the overall sound and the production was an extremely overlooked piece to this album on my part, but I was pleasantly surprised.

     Often times I will pre-judge an artist and my initial thoughts on Moon were that he would be another rapper from New York that just talks about getting high in every song. I have never been wronger. Moon is a true story teller and he even covers topics as serious and real as suicidal thoughts. Moon does not take the role of the struggle, but he writes as an outsider looking into the struggle and a lot of his lyrics sound to be his thoughts on what he sees or has seen growing in Brooklyn. An artist that could really blossom to be a popular name in the industry if he continues to progress right.

     The album did seem to drag a bit in the middle tracks but that may be because the first actual track (not the intro) is a true "banger" and it brings high volume, as apposed to the calmer middle tracks. Sometimes, up and coming rappers will make an album and feature guys in their immediate circle. Now I'm not sure if this was the case on Packing for the Moon, but the other artists featured seemed to be on the same level of "notoriety" if you will. I would like to hear more tracks with just Micheal Moon, but I can't deny that the artists featured on the album blended and did add an unexpected element towards the finished product.

     Packing for the Moon isn't an underground staple, but it is an album worth getting. It put a new artist on my radar and I'm excited to see Moon grow and hopefully do great things for Hip-Hop. This album was a great surprise and a very satisfying listen. Be sure to snag this while it's still free and be sure to let me know what you think by commenting below!