Sometimes, I like to travel back in time and discover how certain artists sounded with their first releases, see how they’ve evolved since, and how far they’ve come. Today I have the opportunity to go back to the first EP by Umbrella Collective’s Kingpin Pro Dillinger and his project with producer Megaladon.
This was released in 2020 with 5 tracks and a total of 15 minutes in length. I’ll start with this: surprisingly, Pro doesn’t sound much different than he does now, quite scary when you think about it. He’s been this intense of an MC since day one and hasn’t changed since. On this EP, he has his trademark gritty, raw, and cold-blooded delivery, and his vicious flow and cadence are as tough as they’ve always been. I feel the one slight thing different is his verses are a bit faster delivered than usual. As he’s progressed, he’s slowed down his pace on the mic, which makes him sound more cerebral and sinister.
But honestly, besides that, he sounds identical to how he is now, as the WWE likes to say: ‘Then, Now, and forever.’ Pro Dillinger will be the hardest.
Now, Megaladon is someone I’m new to. The one thing you can tell is that although these beats are heavy boom bap excellence, they’re a few tones lighter than what Pro would nowadays associate with. Of course, back then, this would have been a period of experimentation and trying different sounds, and so we get this, but it’s far from bad in any sense of the word! This production still goes hard as fuck and delivers those crisp, polished, and ruthless instrumentals stiff enough to knock your head off!
There is one smooth cut on the album: the track ‘Listen’ ft Jazzy Joyce. This is the only lighter, jazz-influenced side of the EP. It feels unique to hear Pro on something so mellow, but he makes it work, and Jazzy always delivers a fantastic verse!
Overall, for a debut EP (if the internet was correct), then this is phenomenal. The world got to experience the legend of Pro Dillinger for the first time, and the culture hasn’t been the same since. Megaladon also proved himself well and, hopefully, since then has gone on to become a must-have name because he was incredibly dope!
https://open.spotify.com/album/6e4eeJqw0a9F15Gd6wNsK7?si=SxNPG7l4Tlq4iKSkaRefuw
(Donation Link)
https://www.paypal.me/Corbz94?locale.x=en_AU
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 