So was it worth the wait? Once you press play, Floe brings you down memory lane and up to speed at the same time with “What It Is” featuring Median. The warm yet chilling vocal wails exemplify the classic Justus League sound that we all fell in love with in the first place. Further on, Floe offers his unique brand of social commentary on “I See It All”. One line rings especially true when he spits “the fifth grader with a second grade reading skill/with each test failed they know another prison’s filled”. Along with tracks like “Exposure” [which offers details insight into his native North Carolina music scene], it is this unbridled honesty that proves to be Floe’s key strength throughout this 16 track journey. However, the most impressive lyrical display is displayed on the Tragedy Khadafi remake of “Arrest The President”. Floe tears through a stripped down drum break like a man possessed and beats the instrumental into submission for four minutes straight. It truly is an exhilarating listen.

On an album that features production from 9th Wonder and Khrysis, it is upcoming producer Blunt who provides the lushest sound on the closer “Won’t Change”. Floe flows with introspective smoothness over the soulful yet funky sound scape reaffirming his unyielding stance to keep it real and stay true to himself.

All in all, Floe has created a very solid piece of work that bodes well for his future endeavours. While Floe has not made an album that that critics or fans may label an instant classic – he has created a great album that can be listened to from top to bottom. This only proves that Floe is not just “streetwise” but “wise” – period. -K.I.N.E.T.I.K.

Compared to the original Floe Almighty, the tone of this version is decidedly smoother. This is most evident in the remix of “Livelyhood” produced by Blunt. The melancholy keys provide the perfect contrast to Floe’s deep baritone and the more rugged boom bap of the original. Fans of the traditional Justus League sound need not worry as 9th Wonder and Khrysis are in full effect on this disc. 9th provides a uncharacteristic [but still dope] rasta bounce to his remix of “Skyward” on which Floe effortlessly bounces along the vocal chops. Khrysis also chimes in with his remix of “Craftmatic” which includes majestic chants and Floe sounds completely at home over the sounds cape. He rips it to shreds with clever lines such as “you should only deal with absolute best, that’s fresh, you know I’m correct/three lefts that’s right”.

Ironically the best song on the album is not even a remix. The Khrysis produced bonus cut “Off & On” is a pure highlight. The slightly off kilter rhythm and funky guitar licks combined with Floe’s most energetic delivery yet makes you only wonder of the level of quality we will experience on the upcoming album. Despite the album’s amazing consistency, the only misstep to be heard here is the remix of the classic “The Righteous Way To Go”. Even 9th Wonder couldn’t improve on this song last time round and that proves to be the same here. The beat provided is definitely well produced but you cannot help but compare it to the more superior original.

All in all, Floe definitely remains consistent on his third release. If this is any indication of what awaits us on The Streetwise LP coming in January, then we’ll have enough heat to keep us warm during and beyond the inevitable cold start of 2008. – K.I.N.E.T.I.K.

    Continuously shouting his name from what is surely a friend’s bathroom into a bullhorn to proclaiming himself “one of the great torchbearers of this rap era” on the catchy soul of “The Torch,” Floe doesn’t ever seem to quite believe his own self-generated hype. This leads to not only an uneven listen, but something of a fascinating one. He grossly overestimates his comfort speed on title track “Floe Almighty” and never regains a hold on the beat. Diablo Archer, a far more polished and mainstream-ready emcee unintentionally one-ups Edgar on “One and One,” while Floe naively maintains “we showin’ you how it’s done.” Hell, he can’t even be found on the suddenly all-inclusive hot spots iTunes or Amazon.

    Yet there is something so endearing about this release. The production does what it can with very little, particularly 9th Wonder - who in this critic’s opinion is still not living up to his early promise - and Floe does perpetually sound canned, but the never die attitude, the very Balboaness of Allen Floe, is sure to seek out the underdog freak in all of us and exploit it for all its worth. His really needs to knock out the Russian on his next one, though, or risk losing the extra rounds he’s earned here.

    Depending on your patience or perspective, Mr. Floe’s True Links is either a decent, and promising, debut for an artist in his career’s infancy or a fairly monotonous listen; one that could have been aided by a bit of versatility in cadence and tone, or perhaps supplemented by more guest vocalists. It’s not that Edgar doesn’t bring it when you look at the micro and not the macro, as each song song is solid when considered  solely by itself. The problem arises when the album is ingested as a whole and each of its subsequent parts is recognized as a clone of the last. 

    Long story short: by purchasing True Links, you’re investing in a fairly low-risk, high-return rapper stock pick that’ll soon come into his own, especially if his follow-up has half the production contained on this release. Not there quite yet, but definitely on his way. Think of this as his NBDL outing and expect those solid NBA minutes in the near future.