I had been waiting a long time for this one. Tru Nyce has always been one of my favorites from this city because you can always see where his heart is at. It’s not about anything but doing him, representing his team Tru Fresh Digital, and making improvements each time he puts something out. This is all quite evident, as this is without a doubt his best and complete project yet. Out the gate he let’s you know he’s reppin RVA and this music is his passion. From The Ground Up is an interesting blend of the south and north, with production sometimes sounding like some trap shit (i.e. the intro track) but then other records sounding more universal with a focus on the narrative and lyrics, such as “I Wanna Make It.”
Theres some solid features on here with TTF’s own Ver$ace Chachi keeping it just as 100 as Tru on “Outsiderz Edge” and the spaced out 1AM, 2AM, 3AM featuring Zooted and Chrisss Da Alien. With around a hour of music for you to listen to, Tru holds his own throughout without wearing you down by talking about the same shit every song, and is most definitely still at is best when partnered with producer Jet Muzik Beats. Definitely not one to miss.
Nikolai has been kinda under the radar, why I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he goes or went to VMI. Maybe I’m just late. Anyway I was really surprised how good this turned out. It’s a bit sing song-ish, borderline emotional at times, but also very honest, humble, and appreciative of the moment and opportunity to share it with the listener. As some would say about Drake, “he just seems like a nice person.” The mix on this is pretty good and consistent, which allows his cadence and delivery to come off clean.
A lot of the content focuses on the future and his ambition rather than doubts, I enjoyed the youth and optimism. There’s some beats that are taken from classic records etc, but he still manages to make himself the focus of all 10 of this projects tracks, which did make me miss the summer. I hope he makes good on the his promise made at on the final track “I’ll Be Back” and gives us something new for next summer.
