Fashawn -Boy Meets World (One Records/2009)

Fashawn -Boy Meets World (One Records/2009)

Album entirely produced by Exile



At a time when the game is dominated by 30-something rappers, we sometimes forget that hip-hop is the music of the youth.



Twenty-year-old Fashawns debut album, the Exile-produced Boy Meets World, represents that vital element, telling the story of a young man from Fresno, California, trying to avoid povertys pitfalls and rise above his circumstances. On Intro, the albums opening skit, young Shawn turns down a chance to hustle for a shot at a rap career, before bragging about his ferocious flow (I can turn a whole metropolis into a peninsula/Ink-pen emperor, slang remain infinite) over Exiles chopped-up organ and swollen bass groove.



Though hes adept at boasting , Fashawns real strength is his ability to articulate the inner struggles of a good kid from a bad place. "Where Im from, brothers die every day, sunny CA/Learn the ecology on how we behave," he spits over Exiles dramatic string sample on Ecology.



In sharp contrast to the albums somber tone is Hey Young World. Here we have Fashawn, barely out of adolescence himself, reminding those younger than him that their dreams are within reach. Featuring requisite guest appearances from the likes of Blu (Samsonite Man), Evidence (Our Way) and Planet Asia (The Score), Boy Meets World is a strong debut from such a young MC, and it resonates a lot more than the work of some rappers decades his senior.



1. Intro

2. Freedom

3. Hey Young World f. Aloe Blacc & Devoya Mayo

4. Stars

5. Life As a Shorty f. J Mitchell

6. The Ecology

7. Our Way f. Evidence

8. Why

9. Samsonite Man f. Blu

10. Father

11. Sunny CA f. Co$$ & Mistah F.A.B.

12. Bo Jackson f. Exile

13. Lupita

14. When She Calls

15. Boy Meets World