Kingston, Jamaica-based veteran emcee Five Steez and Montreal-based producer Son Raw have teamed up to drop their new collaborative album Re:DEFined. The 11-track body of work explores the ever-dynamic change of the life of an artist and real-time events that help shape his progression. The pairing is a no-brainer as Son Raw first worked with Five Steez in 2021 on The Council of The Gods‘ Trilogy album, on which Son Raw handled some of the production.

The project opens up with “Pay Attention” which has a sombre and dusty nostalgic aesthetic and samples live performance clips of Five Steez, this sets the tone perfectly. This is followed by “Diamond Gem”, a solid opener that showcases Five Steez’s gripping rhyme schemes and expressive flow with lines like “All hail the king, they named me Godfather/The general Young OG spitting raw lava“. On the organ-driven “Maintain”, Five Steez continues the energy with his distinct flow and street-savvy mentality that help bring listeners closer to his stomping grounds.

On “The General”, Five Steez wastes no time and lets off warning shots as he commands the microphone and audience like the true general that he is and solidifies his stance with the line “Salute me when I enter the room” while “New Kingston” is an ode to his hometown of Kingston and he takes us on an excursion through the land and the many colourful characters and events that make the city bubbling. He is joined by vocalist Annajé who ties it up with her soothing melodic runs. The project closes out with “Simple Man” and “Broken Heart”. The former is a sombre and soulful track that sees the rapper reflecting on his past and the journey he has embarked on to become who he is while the latter flips a classic sample and presents it in a modern manner with Five Steez detailing a wide variety of social issues from domestic violence, parental care and heartbreak.

Overall the project is quite diverse in terms of sound and rhythms and Five Steez’s candid lyricism that ranges from sober reflections to bravado-raps.