Moka Only

In 2007, Moka Only released the first Airport album, inspired by his travels and time spent in airports, and he's released a new volume every year since. For Airport 6, don't expect any drastic deviations. Moka's lo-fi production is jazzy hip-hop, light on bass, his flow is laidback and chilled out, and his hooks are primarily self-sung, making for a mellow mood. The theme of the series has altered over the years though. Airport 6 tends towards reminiscing about his long history in hip-hop and his current place in it. The album opens with "Sleeping Dogs," an autobiographical track that traces his beginnings in Langford, BC through his success with Swollen Members and his return to a "back to a me thing," themes that pop up regularly on tracks like "Still Gotcha," "Ain't Broken" and "Back Back." The only guest is De La Soul's Posdnuos, who blends in well with a hot verse on "Mr. Megahustle," but it's rougher, up-tempo, braggadocio track "To Keep Us Rollin" that's the highlight of the album. It's an exclamation point to end the whispered sentence that is the album's preceding ten tracks. A few more songs like that would have been nice, but as is, Airport 6 is another fine addition to the Moka Only catalogue.