The voice of conscious Hip-Hop returns.

Human the Death Dance - his third album - shows Francis in a new light. His polemic slam poetry that so often incited a gaggle of fans to froth at the mouth has also returned.

However with this effort Francis gives us a different approach. Everything about this record shows us exactly what he wants us to see him as. It shows a man sitting comfortable with what music he produces. It shows a man ready to let the people into his life.

This is what sets it apart from his past efforts. It has a much more personal approach; much more care and attention is taking into the production with every song swaying with different influences, fighting for the attention of the listener. However this is not immediately evident with first track Underground for Dummies, which gives us the usual ‘shooting from the hip’ style of rapping that he has become renowned for.

Sharing his angst at being ‘pigeonholed’, Francis raps: “This is Hip Hop for the people, stop calling it emo, I don’t wanna be sold to the people in the know” it is clear that Francis is still at unease with the world. Even by merely stating at the end of the song that irony is dead and that he was at “It’s death bed” shows that he now means business.

It doesn’t abate lyrically throughout the album. Various songs don’t give us anything different to what we are used to with Good Fashion and Call Me Francois, attacking the scene that spawned him. Musically this is a step above his previous efforts. The inspired choice of hiring composer Mark Isham for two songs Good Fashion and The Waterline gives us two poignant reminders of Francis’s talent of mixing styles.

Nearly every song has something different for the listener to wrap their ears round; if it’s not the Blues tinged Got Up This Morning or the 80’s Hip Hop homage of Midgets And Giants, it would be the epic styling of Going Back To Rehab that will make the listener immerse themselves in the sound.

It does have flaws though; it suffers sometimes of losing its way, with a few songs struggling to find an identity. With all the styles clashing, his best weapon - the actual rapping - loses its way. These are all minor flaws in something that can only be described as all-rounded.

Human the Death Dance is the sound of a man flexing his muscles. His lyrical ferocity and eclectic musical choices are all part of his weaponry. By arming himself with these songs, Francis has kept himself above the rest of the crowd. This remains a stepping-stone to that classic that we all know he could deliver.