San Diego-based producer Lonesome Bones and rapper Dazer Daze team up for a 7 track project titled Cali Royale. The project boasts hard-hitting beats with edgy, off-kilter rapping from start to finish.

The first track, “Speak for the Trees” is a lyric-dense piece that showcases raw lyricism from the emcees over a dark and gritty soundscape. Lines like “I tend to time travel with a capsule back when rapping dudes had to be good/Channel my inner guru, bring it back if I could/So this is that preview I do lyrical Juijitsu/form a chokehold on top of your mental” underscores the nostalgia for the period when talent was put before everything else. DJ Openoptics joins the fray and closes out the track with a solid scratch routine. The next track “Case Closed” has a cinematic vibe with its rich guitar licks and ominous strings laced over punchy drums. Here the duo recruits DJ Tone Spliff to cut some excellent scratches into the mix as they wreak havoc over the microphone. This leads into “They Don’t Want That Smoke,” a somewhat upbeat track comprising Mexican guitar riffs, soft drum grooves and scenic textures. Once again, audiences get thrown in the mix with the duo’s no-holds-barred lyricism that blends bravado with thought-provoking references. Lines like “Got these settings set for ridiculous, it’s like playing Russian roulette with no witnesses/Nothing to lose, nothing to prove/Accelerate with the same thoughts/Living life limitless” did get our attention for their edginess.

The project continues on a lyrical tier and boasts a plethora of rhyme schemes and use of wordplay that stray from the norm. Besides that, the duo also give audiences a glimpse into their life journey and struggles. For example, “No Stress” explores the concept of self-resilience and the power to face the never-ending curveball life throws while “Faced the Storm” talks about the aftermath of surviving the trials and tribulations of life. The track has a solemn aesthetic and oozes raw emotions from both emcees as they reflect on different aspects of their lives.  The final tracks “Life As We Know It” and “Till We Golden” switch things up with the former employing a modern rap beat with trap-esque drums while the latter has a sullen and nostalgia-inducing aesthetic underpinned by solemn thoughts. I must add that the tracks stray from the hard-hitting and gritty aesthetics that permeate the project and show audiences a different side to the duo’s artistry. lines like “whachu know about these west coast skills/un-imaginable but the quotables would send chills/Flex these muscles, scramble pieces to the puzzle/I’m known to move in silence ‘cause my energy’s too valuable” underscore their West coast allegiance and their winning spirit. The track’s chilled vibe reminds me of Chico and Cool Wadda’s “ Godzilla like.”

Overall Cali Royale, does what it sets out to do. Lonesome Bones and Dazer Daze deliver a tandem of hard-hitting tracks over 20 mins and close the project on reflective notes. The production here is smooth as butter and their musical range makes it enjoyable without being stale.