A fast-rising young emcee from Richmond, Nio Tha Gift has been bubbling up for a minute, making a name for himself around Northern Cali. Unlike most new projects from the Bay or elsewhere, there are hardly any guest appearances here, giving Nio a proper platform to do his thing. The production is of the standard-issue claps-and-synths variety, but Nio's rhymes are definitely a cut above the usual streetwise hustler steez, with intelligent and quotable verses that get a lot deeper than most. On the moody and murky "Chain Reaction," he tells the story of "Lil JR with the AR who just bought a Smith and Wesson now he swore that he would spray y'all/Daddy dies young and single momma got laid off/Hear her talkin' 'bout stripping now he turnin' into A-Dog." It's higher-level crime rap similar to work by cats like The Jacka and Cormega. Check out "Convex Mirrors," "Do or Die," and "Take It Back."