He's back.

Only one MC from Tacoma has gotten big enough to where those two words mean anything. Not that he ever left us.

The MC I speak of has consistently been opening for the biggest national acts that hit Sea-Tac. He's one of the few Tacoma MCs who get good looks in Seattle. He does songs with big Seattle acts like Neema. He's brought up rappers such as Motamouth Jones and Sawchosiz. He's been on most people's top five Tacoma MC list for years now.

He's Jay Barz, and he just blessed us with a new album, 420 Experienced: The Highs and the Lows.

So what's the big deal about another weed album from another rapper? There have been SO many weed-oriented hip-hop albums that it's almost a cliché. So what could Barz possibly give us that's not played out?

How about reality weed-rap - that's what I'd call it. Instead of giving listeners the angles we've heard from dozens of MCs before, Barz takes weed rap to a new, realistic everyday-life-struggle level. This is Barz's new world of weed-rap, where everyday guys are smokers - guys with jobs and families. This album is not about what happens when someone like Snoop Dogg gets weeded. This album is about what happens when the everyday man gets weeded. Barz gives us songs about going to work and trying to beat drug tests, about losing yo lighter at a party, about getting harassed by police and about a host of everyday consequences that come from trying to smoke and live.

On a lyrical note, Barz is at the top of his game. He's always perfectly on beat. He knows how to use his voice. He raps fast, but only when he needs to. 

Here's what Barz says about his new album: "Listen to this album all the way through and experience what I have experienced through marijuana. It's not all fun trying to get high."

Most importantly, though, Barz's humorous-yet-serious personality shines throughout the entire effort.