I’ve said it once, I’ll keep saying it till I die. One of my favourite aspects of what I do is discovering new talent and expanding my knowledge of the culture, so with that in mind let’s get into this brand new album!
This album is by the MC O Dawg and MC -SB and it features various producers such as
-Halal Seeds
-DJ Radiohead (Cuts)
-Wavy Da Ghawd
-Syer
-Grimm Doza
-Campflauge Monk
-AP
-Teamadethis
-Swum
-30 Below
-Showalter
-Work Scorsese
That is quite a list of names, some I’m familiar with others I wasn’t but it doesn’t change the fact they all come together under one united vision of a cohesively run record!
What surprised me about this album is the bright sounds and colour associated with it. I guess in this day and age (especially in the underground) I’m expecting that heavy boom bap influence, dark and gritty production but instead we get high energy & funky instrumentation that leaves you in an uplifting mood!
There’s certain tracks such as -Press Start which has one of the grooviest beats I’ve heard in a minute sounding like something straight from the 80’s, you’ve got those glistening keys, plucked bass strings, rock and roll style drum patterns all coming together for a song to move your body too! Was an awesome experience!
Track 7 -funtimeusa had me smiling ear to ear with the funkiest instrumental ever! It has a light electric tinge to it! You’ve got those dance/techo scattering and fast paced keys that go off at the forefront of the track accompanied by what sounds like looped synth chords which seem to have an echoing effect and some groovy bass to match! Definitely an adrenaline shot to the mind on this one!
I also love the fact the song is left 70% instrumental and it lets that beat just breathe and sink into the mind of the listener!
There’s just so much fucking emphasis on creative and artistic direction on the music side that it truly is in a lane all by itself. No two songs share the same tone, and it makes for a roller coaster of emotions that you’ll want to come back to over and over again.
As far as the MC himself goes, he rode those beats like waves at the ocean in the same fun and sporadic fashion possible! It sounded like he was having the time of his life on these beats with a more joyful delivery than usual, with his own brand of conviction and talent to match!
Hearing him rap on these tracks, he does so with a certain type of introspection that I adored! I’m talking about that fluent flow mixed with a form of freelance delivery that makes him unpredictable! For example, as I explained above, track 7, how he just bounced off and left more than half the track with no vocals!
Or how on track 2 -FBGM, he’ll just start rhythmically singing a chorus that’s inspired and paying homage to the legends! He’s an unorthodox type of MC, one whose originality I fucked with heavily!
He has a strong sense of lyricism, an obvious strong vocabulary, and a great handle on his presentation and pronunciation of his bars! He’s charismatic and proves he doesn’t need a whole party of features to make his album work; he’s more than enough to leave the record exciting and interesting!
Make sure you go check out the adventure that is O Dawg! He’s not the type to disappoint! I guarantee once you’ve heard this album, you’ll be coming back for more!
https://odawg.bandcamp.com/album/electronic-art-nobody-beats-the-rogue
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