It's rare when you come across an album with as much focus on a message as Khalil's The Calm Before The Storm and it's even more rare when it's a hip hop album but that's exactly what it is a hip hop album whose main purpose is the delivery of a message. From the opening skit you become aware that this young man is determined to make you listen to him, not just his flow but more importantly his words.

The album opens with him attempting to sell umbrellas "real cheap" for the upcoming storm but the response is less than accepting. The next song  "I'm Focused" then expounds on the Khalil's purposes as an artist: "Now if I never claimed gangsta, would you still listen? If I told you when I rhymed my only goal is my vision?"  a question that the answer to is sadly more often than not "no". "Who's Number One?" also poses another question not the obvious one, but whether or not everybody's quest to be number 1 does more harm than good. We even get personal songs like "Sometimes" a reflective look at a failed relationship where self denial and differences in cultures lead to it's demise. The title track "The Calm Before The Storm" is probably the best cut on the album with the production, lyrics, flow and song structure all being in sync to paint a picture of societal complacency, ignorance and disregard for spirituality.

" People we missing the whole point,/
and if you think it's by accident that we distracted then it's over, the whole joint/
is gonna blow up in our faces unless we face it,/
the world is changing before our eyes and we can't take it,/
so we pop bottles and turn on the tv/
and we watch models cuz it's fun and it's easy".

The album has a total of 20 tracks 16 of which are full length tracks, it probably could have been cut down to the best 10 or so, but I guess too much music is never a valid complaint. Definitely a solid effort, I hope folks are ready to listen again, because Khalil definitely has something to say.