“2022 II” sets the tone with its hard-hitting and cinematic trap soundscape underpinned by Mindseed’s impassioned flow and knack for storytelling. Using various events that occurred throughout the year 2022, Mindseed creates vivid lyrical imagery that captures the core essence of his writing. He is energetic, humorous and sometimes off-kilter with the bars and lines like “I have been a music teacher at the same music studio for the past 12 years no shit/These lines are fire, that’s it, I quit, I should be teaching English Lit” sees him making light of his situation. he follows it with a playful melodic chorus that summarizes the theme. “Oh No!” has a dark alternative pop aesthetic and is ripe with a mellow melodic performance reminiscent of Chester Bennington. The production is upbeat and will appeal to fans of the genre and his use of easy-to-follow rap lyrics is engaging as well.

“Ana Filastinium” makes use of a reggaeton groove and exotic flute-like synth. Even as the soundscape is upbeat and bright, Mindseed’s lyrics dwell on war, its effects on people and the overall gloom and doom of the government’s underhanded actions. He talks about those who get caught in the crossfire and are torn from their homes and family. “In My Life” is a chilled playful track that showcases Mindseed’s vulnerable side. Over the lush and bright soundscape, he pours adulations on the lady who caught his eye and gives thanks to the universe who brought her into his life. The record is quite a contrast to the previous song and surely keeps the dynamics of the project varied. “Isn’t That Something?” starts off with a dark and moody synth stab and distorted bass synths underpinned by thick 808-kick drum grooves. Mindseed sounds comfortable on this one and proceeds to deliver a double-time performance ripe with fiery bravado raps that send shots at his detractors who try to derail him from his goals.

“No Way” sees Mindseed teaming up with Wiggly Sheep for a purely pop track made up of blaring horns and smooth drum grooves. Mindseed talks about some events he experienced that try to take him down but he is strong enough to stay afloat. Wiggly Sheep comes through in the third verse with her own experience. Mindseed sings the chorus here as well and I must say, he has a knack for penning these pop melodies that are catchy and fun. “Own Life” sees Mindseed going back to hip-hop with a mid-tempo trap soundscape. Here, the rapper reminds us that he is living his own life and not worried about what the next guy is doing and implores listeners to do the same and make use of their time wisely.

The project closes out with two tracks “Asshoe” and “222(The Finale)”. The former is a dark Memphis-styled track that has a gloomy key and double-time groove and as the title says, Mindseed and MC Mossberg go back and forth with hard-hitting and unfiltered raps. The latter closes it out nicely and continues from the intro and we once more see Mindseed detailing his own struggles and the other events of 2022 that he thinks are interesting or hilarious. His flow is kinda weird and off-beat at times. The chorus is an interpolation of the intro track “2022 II” and it’s a nice callback and helps wrap things up nicely.

Overall 222 II is a nice potpourri of genres and styles that gives listeners a wide variety of sounds. From the upbeat pop/rock sounds to hybrid rock/hiphop and feel-good pop tracks. Mindseed sure knows how to keep things interesting with his unapologetic lyrics and energetic flows.