Planet Giza: Ready When You Are Album Review

Rap/Hip-hop Journalist

The Rap trio, Planet Giza, has once again crafted a mind-blowing experience that gives listeners a taste of multiple genres. Planet Giza consists of three members, Singer/Songwriter Tony Stone and producers DoomX and Rami B. The trio was formed back in 2012 coming out of Montreal Canada. They made what first started out as traditional hip-hop and soon began to incorporate sonics from jazz, soul and neo-soul.

Ready When You Are is Planet Giza’s forthcoming album released on April 7, 2023. The album has Tony Stone as the main vocalist with features from many up-and-coming artists such as Mick Jenkins and Saba. Sonically the project is a combination of Traditional Hip-Hop and R&B but sprinkles other genres across production. The album is cohesive as if it were created all in one day with beats that compliment Tony Stones flow and cadence with such elegance. Smooth transitions between each track and beat switches that encapsulate different emotions.

The title track “Ready When You Are” ironically is the introduction to the album. This song builds the foundation of stories Tony Stone will be singing and rapping to us throughout the album. A melody of synths and electric pads begin the race of emotions that Stone will soon display. Drums come in soon after the beautiful layer of synths, and pads with a simple rhythmic pattern consisting of bouncy hi-hats and conga like percussion. Stone begins to sing as a groovy bassline is playing on the backend. Lyrically, Tony Stone seems like he may be telling the audience that he is ready when we are which might be true, but he is also speaking to a gorgeous woman of his interest. He mentions that the woman is also his vice in the lyrics, “The forbidden fruit should not look so delightful.” This track wraps up conceptually within the first minute or so, but it is still an amazing listen.

Tony Stone speaks about his difficulty maintaining relationships with woman and begins to not care anymore. He recalls moments when he was in the wrong, but mostly points out the moments where he felt he was done wrong in the relationship. About halfway through the album we start getting a different side of Tony Stone and the production. Tony Stone begins to rap and gradually gets more percussive with his words. The producers start to change the tempos and begin to gear towards a more hip-hop feel.

I realized the change during track six, “Northern Playalistic” which is an ode to the classic southern rap duo, OutKast. This is also my favorite track from the project. Conceptually the lyrics are geared toward introspection and does not speak about any relationships with women. The song starts with a retro sounding guitar and is complimented by a sick piano riff that adds a well needed texture. Tony Stone starts with a catchy hook that could catch any fish near the song. Femdot, one of the many features on the album, makes an appearance right after the hook. He raps about his guilt of surviving the streets and questions how he made it out. He later deals with his grief by finding hip-hop as a hobby and mentions that the hobby that he loves also creates a safe space for his listeners creating a mutual relationship.

That is just a taste of what this album provides. I can see myself listening to this for many years and will be recommending it to anyone remotely interested in alternative rap.