This is the 3rd extended play from San Diego, California emcee Sham Blak. Releasing his full-length studio debut Money Well Spent all the way back in 2013 when I was teenager, he would follow it up with his debut EP ShamRock along with the sophomore effort D Day & the previous EP The Evolution of Sham Blak: As Lucc Would Have It. He recently put Gratuity as well as Something Out of Nothing & ShamRock 2, coming off last summer’s Red October to be a Man of My Word.
“Power & Capability” featuring K4NO finds the pair linking up to talk about no one being realer than them whereas “Deebo’s” shifts towards a boom bap vibe instrumentally so Sham can lyrically get in his conscious bag. “Principle, Loyalty, Legacy” featuring Destruct joins forces so they can discuss keeping a cyclops vision when carrying tradition & after “Ain’t Nothing Like San Diego” props up his hometown, “Out the Window” featuring Mischif talks about doing this for the kinfolk.
Lorde Sims appears during “Tap In”, kicking off the 2nd half shittin’ on everyone & everything regardless of who it is while “Intentions” featuring Navy Jonez Lkr rawly confronts someone regarding their precise objectives. “Round the City” featuring Mischif gets to the cake together without anything derailing their path & after “Shadowboxing” featuring Mr. Brady aggressively treads the battle rap waters topically, the outro “Farewell” sends off Man of My Word talking about going to bed when the sun does.
Documenting the mindset required to stay authentic & building something meaningful on his own terms, Sham Blak blends gritty introspective lyricism with hard hitting production & collaborative energy for an EP built upon principle, loyalty & legacy. Man of My Word calls for the world to stand behind what he believes exploring ambition, self belief to loyalty, relationships, community, internal battles & ultimately letting go & moving forward.
Score: 7/10