Las Vegas rapper Dizzy Wright had long come off as a Devin the Dude for the Tech N9ne generation, but this excellent sophomore effort paints the stoner rapper more as a hardcore Drake or a sure and certain version of Kid Cudi.

Aptly titled, The Growing Process offers "And it's a blessing to be able to rap, and not feed y'all lies/Or fake my happiness, like everything's fine" during the "God Bless America," where guests Big K.R.I.T. and Tech N9ne represent the two styles where Dizzy fits squarely in the middle.

Highlight "Regardless" offers the Tech-like drama underneath within its horror soundtrack-like music, while the MC delivers a Big K.R.I.T.-type street story above.

A Layzie Bone appearance underlines the importance of Bone Thugs in the day and age of Strange Music and such, then "Don't Ever Forget" enlists Krayzie Bone for those who weren't paying attention.

On the other hand, appearances from Jarren Benton and Hopsin are future-minded, as "Explain Myself" explains this crew is built to rule tomorrow, and with "Marijuana keep me at my pinnacle" plus "Me stayin' away from all the nicotine and chemicals" it also explains the general Funk Volume health plan.

"Floyd Money Mayweather" is a solo masterpiece where a stone cold Dizzy rules a stark beat like David Banner, and yet he's versatile enough to float like a butterfly over the pathos and prettiness of the closing "Will It Last." It's why both the deep and bold "Life is not nice/Bend the rules in paradise" and blunt and beat-up "I use to complain about having no shoes/Til I saw a man with no feet" work equally as well, and why The Growing Process is Dizzy's biggest and best statement to date.