You’ve probably seen Raz Simone lighting up this and other online outlets with his song drops over the course of the last ten weeks. It all culminated yesterday with the official free release of his Cognitive Dissonance: Part 2, the sequel to last year’s initial foray into a major label partnership with Lyor Cohen’s 300 Entertainment.

Taken in its entirety, CD2 makes for an even greater cinematic listening experience than its predecessor. Things sound a little bleaker this time around. The record finds Raz holding more folks at arms length, and he’s often acting out with impunity against enemies both real and perceived. Might this have something to do with hard lessons learned in the proverbial rap game?

Maybe; maybe not. As with hip-hop’s other great narrators, sometimes the most formidable enemy is the one encountered within, and Raz’s greatest asset as a writer remains his ability to remain brutally honest not only with his audience, but himself. His dedicated Black Umbrella family (that would be Sam Lachow, producer Jake Crocker, and a grip of other behind-the-scenes capos) is also on hand to provide backup.

Stream Cognitive Dissonance: Part 2 below, or grab the download here.