Music Review // Teon Gibbs "The Calm Before"

There are many reasons why you might feel "The Calm Before", but Teon Gibbs is here to show you not just what comes before but what comes during and after.  This new album is an emotional ride that blends hip hop elements with R&B / soul.   Sometimes there can be singing while other times there is rapping, but overall there are always beats that keep this one rock steady.

Many of these songs have lyrics related to their titles and even will have the titles in their chorus.  So when "The Calm Before" begins with a song called "Big Money", you should know what that song will be about before even pressing play.  Other songs such as "Come Thru" and "Pusha Baby" seem obvious as well, though the last song "Forever" is about the opposite with the lyrics: "This won't last forever now"

In the way that I feel people can get up there and sing and have their own voice, I feel like people can also rap and have their own voice.  The sound of Teon Gibbs tends to lean more towards classic hip hop in sound than modern rap music and I know this is true simply because of how much I like it.   At times the sound can remind me of something from Hand'Solo Records and yet the last song, "Forever", can also musically remind me of Phil Collins.

I'm not sure if there is an official way to listen to hip hop, but it has always been my experience that I hear the music first while pulling some lines out of the lyrics.  Then, eventually, I pay more attention to the lyrics, putting together the whole song.  But you need lines like "Don't trip, just fall for me" to know that Teon Gibbs is not only worth listening to but also worth telling the world about.