To kick off the season, one of BSO’s readers, an aspiring hip-hop artist by the name of Mr. Flo’z has released a mixtape, entitled “Back on Top – the 2009 LA Lakers Playoff Mix.”

For a Laker fan, the album is definitely a little bit nostalgic as Flo’z goes through each game in the playoffs, round by round, dropping rhymes about each game, and highlighting memorable plays and players that had good games.

Clearly, it’s a mixtape that if you are not a Laker fan, you may not enjoy the album from a lyrical standpoint, but do note that the production and beats on this mixtape are on point and work to the artist’s benefit.

And as a person who is enamored with music and continuously embodied by it, I will be honest; I was a bit skeptical about listening to this CD. I thought that it would be a CD with corny beats and corny lyrics, and a bunch of hype men in the background making their shout outs (like most of mix tapes these days). But this mix tape definitely impressed me.

It’s already difficult to create fluid rhymes about what is going on in life in general. I hear people on the radio bumping songs that are going off about LOL’s and smiley faces. And then there’s people that are trying to rhyme a word with the same word. But Flo’z has his lyrical sense down, and puts good rhymes together about the many themes and story lines that circulated around the Lakers last year in the playoffs.

Probably my favorite track is 10, “This Ain’t War” where my man rhymes about the drama that took part against Houston. From Derek Fisher’s shove to Ron Artest’s comments about Kobe’s elbow to the throat…all with a pretty fresh beat playing off in the background.

Another notable track is “Plight of the Champion.”

Flo’z ends the CD with of course, “The Lakers Are the Champions” track using Madcon’s beat of Beggin’ which fits right in congratulating every Laker on the squad.

Overall, the album is something that is definitely something appealing for a Laker fan, but also a mixtape to appreciate for those who understand the difficulty of dropping a rhyme that flows, goes and sounds good and well-thought together.  With good lyrical ability and great selection on music, Mr. Flo’z puts together an articulated mixtape revolving around one of the biggest franchises in sports; the Los Angeles Lakers.

Call me biased because I’m a Laker fan…but I can get with it.

You can download the album here.

Download:  Back on Top – the 2009 LA Lakers Playoff Mix

Mr. Flo’z is a hip hop artist out of Los Angeles. You can check out more of his music on his myspace: http://www.myspace.com/iamfloz

Or follow him on Twitter: @MrFloz where he is always sharing free music.

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