Treece Money: “Driven” – Charisma oozes from every track!
“Driven” is an album that describes the journey of Treece Money building his career as a CPA while trying to maintain his passion for making music. In order to create this album, Treece wrote the lyrics to it while sitting in traffic going to and from work. Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Treece Money began rapping when he was 16 years old. He started performing in 2007 with his longtime high school friend, rap artist M.C., under the group name Syntax. After graduating in 2008, the group went on to performing regionally throughout the Washington DC metropolitan area. After several years of performing as a part of a group, Treece Money began his career as a solo artist. He has since performed alongside several major industry figures such as Rick Ross, Nas, Wale, and Jeremih. In addition, Treece is a lyricist, vocalist, and keyboardist for a local jam band, called Waiting Man.
The first thing you notice about the album “Driven”, is how organic it all sounds. It’s surprising to see that in Hip-Hop music even to this day features few uses of raw instrumentation. Computer and sampling programs can only be dependent upon so much until it starts to sound processed and stale.
To hear a Hip Hop album that uses actual drums, keyboards, and bass guitars, is refreshing to say the least. I’m not sure if that’s happening all of the time here…or even some of the time – what with all the brilliant sample machinery able to replicate any instrument perfectly today – but at least that’s my impression. I get that simply from the lack of quantization. The music feels ‘loose’ and ‘human’.
The drumming while not being overly technical or complex, fits perfectly with the mood and flow of the album’s overall sound. The songs also bring smooth and subtle hints of keyboards that work well, together with the deep rolling basslines. Everything showcases the right amount of sounds that are never really hard to catch with the first couple of listens.
This all equals to quality music that most popular bands wish they could possess, never mind a hip-hop album. Charisma oozes from every track with switchbacks from rapper to music running so smoothly that it almost seems as if Treece Money was in some technically proficient soul or rock band.
With that said, Treece is one hell of a rapper. Lyrically, he is non-stop with his metaphors and topics but for the most part, never backs down on anything that he has to say. To sum up how most of the rapping is on this album, it would be thought provoking pep talks to incite you to always better yourself.
Songs like “That’s Money”, “Coming Up”, and “I Don’t Buy It” showcase his rapping skills. But almost all of the songs give the album a sense of realism. In particular “The Longest Way”, “Time Machine” and “Come in on the Break”. Never is there a dull song or really, any hint of filler because what Treece Money has created here, is not only an exceptional Hip Hop album, but an album that is fearless of taking chances.
Hence brilliantly eclectic tracks like “My Legacy” and “It Don’t Get Better” shine in this collection. With an atmosphere that only a few handfuls of musicians can succeed in, and originality that isn’t only enlightening but also influential, Treece Money has created something with “Driven” that should not be missed by any music listener.
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