My only regret after listening to Guilt is that I slept on Mims’ first album and I’m just now catching on. With this new project, Mims breaks the boundaries of genre and fuses his New York hip-hop style with elements of R&B, reggae, and rock music. The result: a work of genius, and what I would consider one of the best albums, musically, that I’ve heard in a while. Hard hitting beats, electric guitars and an energetic hip-hop flow are just a few elements thrown into Guilt, but don’t let the high caliber of musicianship on the album fool you: this kid can spit!

For all intents and purposes, Guilt is a concept album, and ventures off the beaten path to deliver said concept. For the faithful hip-hop listeners, tracks like On And On, and Makin’ Money bring in some sick beats beneath Mims’ rhythmic flow. As a followup to the first single Move, Letoya Luckett contributes the hook on Love Rollercoaster, the second single, which likens a love affair to the cycles of an amusement park attraction: “Dealing with me is like a ride, but when the ride is movin’ keep your hands inside”. Not to discredit the aforementioned cuts, but the album’s most shining moments are in the songs that deviate from the traditional hip-hop formula. Chasing Sunshine opens with somber strums and is heavy on the introspection with its alternative sound; love is the undercurrent, but with the song’s metaphors the object could vary between a goal/dream and an actual woman. Mims brings some clever wordplay to Rock N’ Rollin, adding in a rapid-fire flow from rapper Tech N9ne to this track, which plays on some of the most popular contributors to the rock genre. One Day, as discussed in his Sound-Savvy interview, is his most prized record. Ky-mani Marley, son of Bob Marley, cameos on this reggae-tinged cut that is the farthest deviant in style – Mims actually brings some reggae vocals to this record. Other notable songs on the album include the smooth Be My Hustla with J. Holiday and the album’s title track, which opens the project and provides a basis for the concept. My personal favorite is One Last Kiss, a highly emotional song about loss on which Mims teams up with Soler Mesh (I don’t know who this guy is, but I need to find out… his sound is amazing!); the song practically cries through the instrumental. I’d love to see a video for this one.

To sum it up, Mims stands and delivers with his sophomore album. Much to my surprise and eventual joy, I couldn’t find a bad song on the entire album, but I did find that it reaches audiences across boundaries and cultural gaps, and that's what music is supposed to do. I’ve honestly been playing this non-stop since I got it! If his goal was to dispel the one-hit-wonder misconceptions I'm without a doubt in saying his mission is accomplished. Mims poured his soul into this album and, true to his word, Guilt is an album for the fans – not just hip-hop fans but all music fans.

Sound-Savvy officially rates Guilt with 5 out of 5 platinum headphones.