"The whole record is straight-up hip-hop. There are a couple of R&B influenced numbers. But yeah, it's the kind of hip-hop that I always grew up listening to," he says.
"I think it benefits from having that single focus, rather than my last record, which was a little all over the place genre-wise and stylistically. With this one I kept it all in the one bag and I think I've ended up with a good result."
Having a major label behind him also means Wadams has been able to call on an impressive cast of well-known hip-hop figures, from Talib Kweli to Havoc from Mobb Deep.
"It's not a case of now that I'm with Duck Down I have all these artists at my disposal. These are all individual artists with their own careers, but the label has been a conduit.
"For example, with Havoc, I've always been a fan and wanted to get him on a track. I was just having a conversation in the office and I asked 'Do you guys know him?' And they were like, 'Sure, we'll just pick up the phone.' So it's definitely a huge asset having a team on board that already has those relationships."
Wadams is also flying the flag for locally grown R&B and hip-hop, with soul diva Aaradhna - whose critically acclaimed last album was produced by Wadams – featuring on Celebration Flow and @Peace collaborating on the track Finding God.
"It was very important for me to have New Zealand artists represented on the album. I could've just used talent from here, but I wanted to save the spots for Aaradhna, because she's just amazing, and I really like what @Peace are doing," he says.
As for the title, Gratitude, Wadams says it's his way of saying thank you to everyone who has ever offered a helping hand.
"I just had a moment of reflection on where I'm at. All these things I wanted to do as a kid, I'm literally doing them and I'm grateful for the chance to be able to do it."
• P Money's new album Gratitude is out now. He will perform with special guest David Dallas at the Powerstation in Auckland on June 15.
