JWalt had the résumé for a bigger, louder album. The Oakland artist has charted on iTunes, earned co-signs from Lil Wayne and 50 Cent, graduated from NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, and holds ownership stakes in Oakland Roots SC and the Oakland Ballers.

He made a poetry record instead. “How Love Grows” is a spoken-word album about Black fatherhood, written after his daughter's birth. JWalt became a father at 19. He calls himself a dad first and an artist second.

Two tracks carry his children’s names, Massaiah and Amirah Rae. “My Father’s Hands (Black Fatherhood)” honors his own father and closes with a message from his grandfather. On “Hood Like This,” he is joined by Mistah F.A.B. and Oakland Poet Laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin.

Oakland keyboardist ClayDough produced the album, blending jazz, neo-soul, and hip-hop under the poems.

“How Love Grows” is out now, watch his music video for 'Fatherhood' below: