HEEL BACKLUND

I’ll be real with you for a second. When Action Figure dropped his masterful ‘What Would Harley Race Do?’ In the weeks to follow I started to notice Race themed tracks that I had the suspicion were bitting off that success and when it comes to this one there will be NO suspect just fact that if I start to see songs or projects related to ‘BOB BACKLUND’ I know it will be because of this one right here, I’ve put the whole culture on notice! This is the brand new EP by MC -Young Reese Dude and Producer -DiMaggio and together they drop this heavy 9 track record with just under 24 minutes of content that is inspired by the wrestler ‘Bob Backlund’ and that is a sentence I’ve never seen in the rap game until now! So shoutout to them! If we start with the production aspect of this record we hear DiMaggio embrace a more smooth and low toned record that is kind of ironic considering how eccentric and wild Bob was in his career! A very interesting choice of production that slaps regardless! For example we can discuss the track -Coke Cries which has this almost Arabic nature to it that I fell in love with instantly! Those swaying horns that have this heavy rhythmic rhythm to them that’s combined with some hypnotic drum work and that ambient sounds in the background that adds a bit of gravelly texture to the instrumental! There’s tracks like -Kayfabe which has this more subtle approach with those luscious bass strings, surreal piano notes and some more mesmerising drum work that adds a thick thudding effect to the rest of the instrumentation! This song also has this light vocal snippets that coast throughout the background! The song -Iron Man surprised me with that chilling flute sample that kicks the whole song off. It kind of reminded me of this old ‘Swans’ song sample where they used an off key flute which I can still feel in my nightmares and this oddly has similar sonic texture to that! But in saying that, this is still one of the more smooth tracks with other elements like some lush keys with some minimal and methodically charged drums to wrap it all together! This one definitely feels more outer worldly then the other ones do! As I stated above, this album feels more mellow than a lot of DiMaggio’s other efforts and in turn Young Reese Dude’s! After a banger of drops both men had this one feels like the cherry on top, the cou de grace of a year well done and honestly it’s that ‘don’t break the mould, stick to what works’ attitude that I loved most on this thing. Across the entire 9 tracks we hear Young go off as he has been all year! Dope performances, well crafted penmanship and as always a vivid author who sucks in the listeners with his way with words! Using the theme of Bob Backlund he’s trying to create what seems to be the tribute record for a wrestling legend and utilise a more laid back and crisp approach to showcase not only his solid progression across the year but also his willingness to stay steadfast in the trademark style that made him such a household name these days! He doesn’t waste a single second of the near 24 minutes in setting the stage for his skilled performances! But he’s not alone! He comes heavy with -JRoberts and -067Red who are obviously dope spitters in their own rights and help elevate the tracks and the album as a whole! Definitely ridiculous by both men! Another grand slam by DiMaggio and Young Reese Dude! They putting the culture in a torturous chicken wing that no one is surviving!