You where great in Amsterdam togehter with Francis Rodino and Kane Sole.Go on i like it.

This album is absolutely massive! Powerful and personal, ground breaking and innovative. Trying to find a favourite track is impossible as all 14 stand as one amazing lyrical story. Be warned once you start playing this album you will be addicted and the buzz gets bigger with each play. If you buy only one album make it Maitreya's Close to Home.

An album full of real lyrics and energy. I love it!

With Close to Home I found my way to Hip Hop music. The Album is full of Energie. My favorite song is " Waitaha " Can`t get enough.

OMG !!! Maitreya has made a genere of music I dont usually listen too sound bloody awesome !!!! I cant stop playing it :) Congratulations on an epic album from a true talent

Maitreya is a powerful force in the world of hip-hop, with a relentless drive for success. His Sellaband CD is full of personal soul searching songs with great power. Maitreya has the potential to be Sellaband's first big star. Check out what this guy has to offer - you will not be sorry.

A wonderful artist re-defining hip-hop with his original flavour. Each song has something positive to say and really means something for us all.

Maitreya on continuous replay with hooks fantastic Flows fast, hot, and heavy come at you pyroclastic Closer To Home's the real deal bro, ain't rapped in plastic

This hip-hop Artist, maitreya, has something to say. He's far from a dumb thug dog, as most of his famous colleagues are. They would never be able to invent something new and fresh, the way maitreya has done with his album Close To Home. If you listen to his lyrics, you can tell that he has lived many lives and that he's now on the path of light. Which makes this an inspirational album for many, if the heart's open for it. Now we know where his 'love & light' salute comes from. All of this doesn't mean you can't dance (or whatever you gotta do) to its beats! It's a great album and these are our most favourite tracks: American Dreams (real hip-hop, tight beat, awesome chorus!), So-Lo (drums, bass, guitar, piano all blend in very well. Nice 'n mellow. Again, awesome chorus!), CHur To The CHur (wanna hear this played out loud in all the clubs. The Maori lyrics and chants give the song even more power. Danceable hip-hop!), Loose Change (this track's got political lyrics, we can relate to. Energetic song!), Waitaha (the Maori tribal chants in de background make this track stand out. Very impressive and energetic!), Lotaluv (another highly danceable hip-hop track. It's got a happy feelin' to it. Nice bass line!). Overall: a MUST-HAVE album! Congratulations, maitreya, it really has worked out, as you have foreseen :-) Cheers, Snelle Fellas

Don't think I've ever reviewed a rap/hiphop CD before. Like I mentioned on the forum: I usually don't listen to rap/hiphop. But this is inventive stuff and there is so much more going on in there, that I'll probably be listening to this CD regularly. Currently my fav's Waitaha....oh and the ch.. ch.. ch.. is getting addictive too...

CHur to the CHur is HOT...I can't even give the other songs a chance until I get this one off of repeat.

Yes, I totally agree to all of the reviews posted here. Maitreya´s album is an excellent piece of work. I love it´s versatility, making it accessable to many people who are not into rap/hiphop, but also "keeping it real" and not drifting into the pop-genre. I would find it very hard to decide which tracks should be realeased as singles, because I believe they all have hit potential. Maybe different tracks should be chosen for different markets. I am sure Maitreya will make a smart decision. My favorite tracks are American Dreams, Harlem Streets, Sin City, So-Lo, CHur to the Chur, Loose Change of course... damn, I could name them all. It makes me incredibly proud, that I was able to do a feature for the limited edition. I am sure this album will have a great impact and I wish the best to Maitreya. He is not just a very gifted artist but also a great person. He really deserves his time to shine!

Just to start I'll let you know that my favourite track is So-Lo just after Been Around. Maitreya did manage to put Rap/Hip-Hop music a step further and have brought to this genre the atmosphere and the ambiance that was lacking for its surviving! Unfortunately most artists are using this genre to get nothing but rich from aggressiveness, bad attitudes and dirty words! With this work he has brought love, memories and poetry to build a very strong link with human reality! Anger coexists with care... light pairs with darkness… but, in the end it’s all about hope he is talking about! Yes, Jamie this is a hymn to hope that makes us travel around the urbanities of our world! The message is so strong that no one will be indifferent to it! The love induction is a novelty and will consequently be criticized but I'm 100% sure this is the right way to travel... the only way! Loose Change is another one of my preferences with a base melody that softens the soul and melts the ice! It brings a moment of reflection and the launching for next attitude! You almost feel the need to enter the tune and start a dialogue! Sin City and Lotaluv are already a classic each! The later has a reminiscence of Stereo MC's and Stakka Boo! Perfect! Harlem Streets intro introduces the listener to your own story and stands as a sort of signature! I do hope people will listen carefully to Maitreya words here because this is both a lesson taken from daily experience and an advert for all who have opted to follow their way the Maitreya way! Christchurch is so beautiful and just the perfect intro to the great Sin City! CHur To The CHur is a pearl too, mixing all those as exotic as unexpected sonorities you have managed to blend so masterfully! Another favourite! You have conducted your work the way I see music! I guess if I have produced your album I would have gone exactly the way you did! It was not by mere chance or opportunism that more then a year ago Nearfield was proud to announce that the only guy that could produce our SAB CD and others in the future is Jamie…opsss… Maitreya! Thanks a lot for the music bro!

From New Zealand to New York, from the streets to Sellaband, from a wandering spirit to a knowing one, Maitreya has delivered an epic album that listens as a personal journey musical. Brilliant rhyme, incredibly intimate personal stories delivered in the most catchy, delicious rap that will convince even people who, like me, never were able to appreciate rap & hip-hop. Maitreya has, together with the increcible "The Silence", created a new genre. A true modern day opera, delivered with poise, with magnificent melodies, with powerful rhythms and intimate lyrics. I could never have predicted that I would be able to get into hip-hop, but believing Maitreya when I got to know him, his vision, his mission and his integer, peaceful and light soul, I knew that I could trust him when he told me that he was going to create something incredible (he was using less strong words, but this is how I understood him). It is hard to find my favourite songs, the album truly is a musical story that you can, must, listen to from beginning to end. Having said that, at the moment (ask me later and it'll have changed) I'd select "Waitaha" with the indigious rhythmic chants, "So-Lo" with the haunting melody and very personal lyrics and "CHur to the CHur", reminiscent of Winehouse's "rehab" in it's haunting melodic prose. Hip-hop has been redefined. Maitreya is The Next Generation of musical storytelling! Now it's up to YOU to bring it "close to home"!

This album will appeal to all audiences (so says the girl who listens to very little hip hop). It's simply brilliant: brilliant lyrics, brilliant singing, brilliant style, brilliant fun, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. It's a MUST HAVE! So don't miss out!

Man it’s been a long time coming for this cat right here. Maitreya has been working on his craft for a long time and this album is an awesome debut of what he can do with professional tools and also shows amazing possibilities for his future projects as well. He just keeps getting better and better folks. This for sure raises the bar high for any future hip hop artists to follow. Way to work hard and making a killer album bro! The first of many. The skies the limits now my friend. Kia Kaha