“x Infinity” is the latest effort from San Francisco based rapper Watsky. This is the fifth studio album from the 29-year-old hip-hop artist, and his musical maturity absolutely shows. One of the most notable influences that can be heard throughout this album is Watsky’s poetry. Watsky began as a slam poet and has made a name for himself in that world just as much as he has in the hip-hop scene. He even became the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Poetry champion and was named Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam champion in 2006.

His poetic ability really shines in this album as every song is a detailed photograph that the listener is thrust into. The descriptions are vivid, the pronunciations are crisp and the music floats and pools around the lyrics that Watsky envelops around his audience. Whether or not you like the album, it is impossible not to visualize everything that Watsky is conveying song after song. He rises and shrinks, switching his cadence and tempo every other bar. Each song is its own journey, guided by the navigator, George Watsky.

More than just the imagery that Watsky creates throughout his album, his lyrics are also benefitted from his crisp and over punctuated delivery. He’s able to spit his rhymes with gusto and speed that would normally be unintelligible, but with his incredible enunciation, every line is as clear as it can be. There’s no confusion to what Watsky is saying, literally or metaphorically.

The lyrics are well thought out and even provide an insightful gem every once in a while. The album isn’t full of mindless word spew, which is unfortunately a tendency that others fall into. Watsky avoids these pitfalls and creates a cohesive, entertaining and sonically pleasing piece of art that has a clear thought behind it. The album is terrific output from Watsky and only leaves room to grow.