Earlier this year, local MC Paul Athoe dropped his debut, Come Together, a strong opening salvo that immediately established him as one of the better young rappers on the Buffalo scene. Now, just seven months later, he's back with 1988, an impressive mixtape which flaunts his serious skills as an MC. If you weren't paying attention to him before, now would be a good time to start.

If Come Together primarily served as a means of illustrating Athoe's chops as an MC, 1988 gives us a bit more inside information about who he really is. Named after his birth year, it's a suitably personal album, as Athoe discusses his experience finding a voice as an MC, and working to separate himself from the pack.

A common theme on this album is Athoe's dissatisfaction with trends in modern hip-hop, namely that rappers are often detached from reality, and spend too much time discussing their wealth, or their sexual exploits rather than tackling serious issues (basically, the same problems with the genre that Lorde discusses on her smash hit "Royals"). This theme is at its most prevalent on the bluntly titled "That Ain't Hip Hop," but it re-occurs throughout the album.

There are no weak tracks, but the standouts would be "Poison," the best showcase of Athoe's flow we've seen yet, and "Glass Elevator," which rides are groove jazz-influenced beat while referencing Nas' immortal "One Mic." Later in the album, "She" makes an excellent use of a hypnotic, Eastern-influenced beat, one of many strong beats on an extremely well-produced record.

Paul Athoe is going places, and 1988 should get him a lot of attention within the hip-hop community. On this album, he's made it clear than he means business. On one track, he goes as far as to declare himself as the Michael Jordan of Buffalo's hip-hop scene, and daring anyone to challenge him (essentially a Buffalo-centric version of Kendrick Lamar's epic diss verse). It will be interesting to see who will challenge Athoe's he's one of the best rappers the Queen City has to offer.

Paul Athoe is quite aware of the expectations facing white rappers. On the opening track of his debut album, the Buffalo-based MC speaks of detractors who would compare to him more to Jamie Kennedy's character in Malibu's Most Wanted, than to B-Rabbit, the character immortalized by Eminem in 8 Mile. It's a reminder that to many casual listeners, white rappers tend to be placed into a dichotomy of legitimately good (Eminem, Beastie Boys, MC Serch), and ridiculous novelty acts (Vanilla Ice, Snow, Chet Haze), and that any up-and-coming white MC is a lot more likely to be compared to their Caucasian contemporaries than to black rappers, regardless of who their flow might actually resemble. After this, however, Athoe refrains from mentioning his race for the remainder of the album. He doesn't need to; the quality of this record speaks for itself, and illustrates that Athoe takes his work quite seriously, and has a bright future.

Following the intro, we go into "Brave," which takes its name from the Buffalo Braves, the former NBA team that eventually became the L.A. Clippers. Athoe pays homage to his local roots on this song, referencing Buffalo basketball legend Bob McAdoo. It's of multiple tracks here where Buffalo is mentioned. The Queen City plays its most prominent role on "Sixteen" in which Athoe discusses both the lack of national interest in the Buffalo hip-hop scene, as well its rather limited talent pool. Indeed, while plenty of great acts hail from Buffalo, few of them get attention from the rest of the country. Considering how strong this album is, though, Athoe could potentially be one of the few to break through.

Athoe doesn't shy away from politics, particularly on "The System," which is easily the angriest track on the album. The song discusses poverty, institutional racism, and the Trayvon Martin shooting, and suggests that the ills of our society cannot be blamed on any individual person or entity, but on the inherently oppressive system that all of us have helped to create. You could picture supporters of Barack Obama and Ron Paul finding common ground with the message stated here, as Athoe attacks the disadvantages created by corruption, greed, and bigotry.

Socioeconomic factors are also mentioned in "Pressure," which may be the album's strongest track. The song provides an intriguing juxtaposition of fantasy and reality, as Athoe spends the choruses having a good time, smoking weed and picking up girls, while the verses discuss the issues of poverty and teenage pregnancy. It's a reminder that having a lot of fun and freedom can leave you disconnected from the serious issues many are facing.

The album is not all so dark, however, as there are many lighthearted moments as well. "Not Alike" is a fun trash-talking jam that doesn't have a serious message, but is highly entertaining nonetheless. On "Find A Way," Athoe discusses relationship difficulty with a fair amount of depth, expressing both his love for his girlfriend, and his frustrations when she continually suspects him of cheating. The song works because rather than simply depicting the woman as the villain, it focuses more on the insecurity that can doom relationships, and the struggle to overcome it. The track also features an excellent verse from Genecist, an extremely skilled MC who guests on several songs here. He has an excellent flow, and is definitely a rapper to watch.

This is an extremely confident, self-assured debut album, one that suggests Athoe will be around for a long time. He raps with a strong flow, and avoids redundancies by touching on multiple subjects. the album is neither too serious, nor too light, and will likely appeal to all kinds of hip-hop fans. An excellent debut from an MC with loads of potential.