With his name beginning to bubble thanks to steady work and a J. Cole-produced buzz record, North Carolina native King Mez delivers his latest effort, My Everlasting Zeal, eager to prove his name is one worth paying attention to.

From a production standpoint, My Everlasting Zeal away sticking solely to the classic boom-bap sound of Mez's last project, King's Khrysis, produced entirely by 9th Wonder's Soul Council member Khrysis. King Mez opts to expand his range and experiment with new producers this project, bringing in rapper Omen, Soundtrakk, Prolfyic and more for this journey. He hits the ground running with "About Me," with soft drums and sweet sample chosen by Omen. Another standout is "Monte Carlo," by Mezatron's longtime producer and friend Commissioner Gordon. Showing love to his fellow North Carolina rapper, former XXL Freshmen J.Cole delivers a elegant beat for "The Allure," reminding fans that he is a more than capable producer when called upon. The varying sound of this project will have listeners on their edge of seat and locked in from track to track.

Mez was very selective with his collaborations for the project. Each seemed to fit intently, with spots chosen wisely to showcase the skills of each artist bought along for the journey. Drey Skonie delivers a strong contribution on "The Allure," while DMV songbird Carlitta Durand, Damaris Joi and Sarah Kaboo all link up successfully on "Fallen." Mez even incorporates spoken word into the mixtape by collaborating with Novakane on "Highness".

Conceptually, the project succeeds in effectively telling Mez's story. He openly discusses the up and downs of his life from track to track. In his self produced track "Reign," Mez discusses his love for jordans and the death of his mother all in the same verse, displaying his range and ability to combine hobbies and serious matters in a single minute. Mez shows his wisdom in "Timely Fashion" with witty bars like "I see the game like a party/Co-signs has the same effects as Bacardi/Take it to your head and you'll never leave your bed cause you drunk off could've beens and hardly." The North Carolina native shows he hasn't let success phase him as a person, remaining humble.

Eager to become a name that rap fans are familiar with, King Mez bares a glimpse of his life story over cutting edge production on My Everlasting Zeal. —Christian Mordi (@mordi_thecomeup)

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