Scorched Earth. Covering new ground and leaving nothing in your wake. Just when the ground was starting to feel shaky, Plat Maravich (birth name Sam Jay Bershof), a solo artist hailing from the city of Denver, created his new project Force of Nature Vol. 1. Having felt like his first album Angels Got Me did not reach enough people, he went back to the lab and challenged himself to create something both distinct and accessible. During the early stages of working on this project, while walking in the Denver Lodo area he crossed paths with the first producer he had ever worked with: Yonnas Abraham of BLKHRTS and The Pirate Signal. After a brief catching up they decided to link up in the days ahead to play each other their most recent work. While in the studio room located in Abraham's condo (dubbed Cord Hell) an eager Maravich pulled out a burnt compact disc and had him take a listen. Impressed in particular by "The Wait Is Over," produced by Johny Rocketz of Top Flite Empire, Abraham suggested they work on more material and see what they could come up with. The sessions went well, mainly because their personalities are so different that they can't help but to feed off of each other's various quirks. Abraham, the reclusive production virtuoso who only wears black and is a fan of all things goth, meshes surprisingly well with Maravich, the personable wordsmith who lives for sports, cigars, and grew up idolizing Nas and Jay-Z. In spite of their differing tastes, they're both natural creators who want to make the best records possible. Nine of the eleven tracks on Force of Nature Vol. 1 ended up being produced by the BLKHRTS captain, who helped create an expansive, diverse and accessible sound bed for topics ranging from nostalgia ("Kids Have All The Fun"), worldly ambition ("CTW") to champagne-fueled partying ("We Poppin"). The two additional records produced by Rocketz, "The Wait is Over" and "Don't Ever," provided heavy soul-tinged musings that bookend the project. Rocketz guest raps on two songs and sings on two others, Abraham spits a verse on one, and close friend and continual collaborator Smoove Quotes guests on "Albion Loft" and "Baby James", two of the projects more creative and dynamic offerings. None of this would matter if the main protagonist didn't have his sh*t together. The most apt way to describe his style is "lived-in"; no forced numbers "for the ladies," or faux pas "hustler, not a rapper" rants. Each song has it's own theme and topics that clearly matter to the man based on his life experiences thus far. At different times he is optimistic, defensive, living in the moment, reflective, arrogant, and passionate. The point of view is always clear, the word choice always succinct, and the delivery always on point. No songs sound alike, but all of them flow well enough in sequence to never lose the listener's attention. Clocking in at under 40 minutes, the goal was for Plat Maravich to make himself at home in your psyche without overstaying his welcome.