The Best Creative and Conscious Hip Hop Album/EP of the past week goes to Queens NYC Emcee "SNICK Foley" entitled "STAY WISE", a thoughtful and emotional tribute album to his deceased Father. The production on the album is warmly Boom Bap soulful and the lyrics revolve around subjects like overcoming struggles, prevailing through difficult times, managing through grief, keeping integrity, maintaining resiliance and more. The album is mostly a dedication to "SNICK Foley's" late Father as he manages through the challenges of accepting his Dad's loss. The music has some really emotional moments and you can certainly hear the passion regarding the great amount of love SNICK has for his Father. Songs like "To Whom It May Concern" and "No Ways Tired" exemplify that emotion and passion strongly. There are a number of other standout tracks (imo), One is "Finding Peace" which is a dope Soulful Boom Bap track with lyrics that reflect the song's title as it relates to dealing with grief. Also Track 7, entitled "Speak Like A Child" which is a letter to SNICK Foley's younger self, highlighting his pride, in regards to how far he's come. Track 10, entitled "GYM" which deals with weathering through the mental storm and keeping integrity. Also, Track 11 "Street Lights" which tackles the subject of prevailing through the street life (which has a dope beat change up near the middle of the song), and the song "Father's Day" which is another touching tribute to SNICK's late Dad, reflecting on memories and some of what he's experienced since his father's passing. The entire album is a solid and cohesive listen throughout. The production is soulful, jazzy and certainly Boom Bap. The producer contributions come from Beatsmiths Brown_Buddha, Jermain Blu, AYGR, Shayne Sharpe, Kamii, pis.i, Andre Loot and Empty Sentiment. Also the album has dope vocal features from Singers Domain Brown and Seyu, also a dope and thought provoking lyrical contribution from Emcee .svnth, which touches on the subject of Black Struggle and Oppression, poetically addressing its effects individually and as a community. Check out the album "STAY WISE" now available on bandcamp and digital streaming platforms. Listen below