7evenThirty and Gensu Dean. Rapper and producer. Mello Music Group stalwarts and Jackson, Mississippi natives turned Dallas denizens. Their working together was fated, rooted in shared soil before it was written in indelible ink. With 7evenThirty's sophomore album, The Problem, the duo have committed their destined collaboration to wax, giving rap listeners an album that wrestles with the rapidly changing present and carves out a muchdeserved space in the foreveruncertain future. Though 7evenThirty's first solo effort, Heaven's Computer, was written as a semiautobiographical scifi narrative, he's landed squarely on terra firma this time around. In fact, his previous interstellar retreat inward has resulted in an incisive outward gaze at his home planet. The city buildings might be crumbling, the bars and beats of other rappers and producers homogenized, but there's hope. With his delivery sharper than ever, 7evenThirty is comfortable and confident no matter where Dean's snares and kicks hit. He moves in and out of double time with deceptive ease. Furthermore, his styles are markedly varied throughout, ranging from rigid and rapid fire Russian Revolver to bouncy and playful Foot On the Ground . Still, 7evenThirty's dexterity behind the mic doesn't supersede his thought provoking lyrics.