During Latin trap’s mid- to late-2010s rise, Jon Z stood out. His hair and style as outlandish as his rhymes, the San Juan rapper left as strong an impression on crowded posse cuts as his own singles. Over time, he evolved into a sort of unintentional veteran, one sought after by freshly mainstreamed peers looking to reconnect with the streets and the subsequent waves of Spanish-language spitters alike. On REAL, his first full-length in more than two years, he demonstrates how a near-decade’s worth of solo sessions and studio team-ups forged him into the formidable artist he became. Framed as a psychologist-led mindfulness exercise via opening and closing bookends, the album sets thematic parameters before leading into a diverse set of songs that cross and even blur genre lines. He’s a natural doing drill business with Luar La L on “WUOU” and in trio mode with Hades66 and Ñengo Flow on “MÁS DINERO + PROBLEMAS.” Yet he sounds just as comfortable over the poppier likes of “ME HAN DICHO,” “BUENO QUE TE PASE,” and “TETEO.” Still a menace on the mic, he goes bar for bar with the like-minded Eladio Carrión on “AMIGOS?” and handles matters on his own on “TATTOO NUEVO.”