Los Angeles recording artist Jimmy Poindexter put the mic down to pick the magic wand up in his latest effort SHAZAM.

From the mind of his wife, professionally known as Eve Centeno, a magic-themed hip hop album was synthesized with JIMMY tackling the "boring technical stuff." The LA-based couple combine magicianship with musicianship to create a nowadays seldom seen experience from the theatrical rollout that began with JIMMY quitting music to become a magician named The Great Jimbolini to the album littered with fragments of JIMMY's story, his stance on modern hip hop and magic-based bars. The underlying message being that "real magic is the ability to make something out of nothing." — and that magic already being within us all.

This album is JIMMY at his sharpest across the board. Whether he's delivering gritty & aggressive vocal performances on tracks like "MAGIC" or dropping guttural grunts and snarls on tracks like "VOODOO," he doesn't fall flat in his standard goal to display he can rap his off, produce with the best of them and make you forget it was all recorded in his wife's car. Echoes of Tyler, The Creator reverberate in his attitude and taste palette, glimpses of Kendrick Lamar appear in his pen game and deliveries & the surreal vulnerability of Childish Gambino show up in his storytelling. Being very vocal about his influences launching into the scene with a moment like "*UNCULTURED", Poindexter continues to trail blaze a lane his contemporaries seemingly aren't interested in. In an age where MCs his age (25) either rap like Young Thug, J. Cole or Earl Sweatshirt, JIMMY's attention fixates on a style of rap who's audience aren't so inviting.

Through the scrutiny, he delivers songs like the raw closing track of the album "POINDEXTER: ACT I. - IV." that walks listeners through specific paradigm-shifting events on his journey from birth to the release of one of his previous albums "GNARLY." This genuine display of vulnerability in a climate that suggests he (and many other artists) is not his own beast is exactly the kind of the attitude we need in the world right now. Jimmy Poindexter is a product of the era he grew from and refuses to be anything else for anyone else's thumb of approval.

Throughout SHAZAM, we find him injecting stories of his rough upbringing with parents & family members who dealt with the street life like the opening verse on lead single "BEIN' MYSELF." We find moments of despair & anguish like the first half of "SPEECHLESS" where JIMMY describes being behind on bills and re-hashing a previous suicide attempt. On "NO CAPITALISM!" he paints the picture of the financial & philosophical struggle shared by young adults in America, a topic that rings through his previous two projects "*GHETTOLAND" & "DWMYH." Couple the heartfelt moments found on these songs with tracks like "RICK JAMES" where he bars out and "DIFFREN'" where he drops a catchy hook, these are all the makings of a well-rounded album with substance and fun.

A detrimental aspect of not only this project but all of his previous releases is a lack of collaboration from other artists and producers. While JIMMY has proven that he can craft an album at the drop of a top hat that can keep our attention, his perspective is limited to his own short experience and his talent only runs so deep creatively. This can hurt his relatability and ultimately his reach. We have no doubt once he gains access to other minds and hands, he can knock one out of the park for a broader audience's taste.