On one hand I hate doing reviews of albums that I feel like most of the readers won't care about. On the other hand, this is an album that everyone really should care about. If you happened to catch our top five albums of thr year so far, both lists included an album by the name of Dark Comedy that you probably have never heard of. Whether you are one of those people who simply listens to the radio, a serious "real" hip hop head, or even (shudders) a J. Cole fan, this album is for you. And even if you really don't care about this album, I might say something funny in the review, so read it anyway. It's not like your life is so full of excitement that a few minutes reading through a well thought out music review is going to ruin your day. If that is the case then slow down. Life isn't all about going fast. Sometimes you have to really slowdown to appreciate the little things that make life worth living. See? Even if you gain nothing from the rest of the review, at least you learned a lesson in appreciation.
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As battle rap inches closer towards the mainstream center of focus, its inevitable that the skilled rhymers attempt to craft the full length album. I'm a fan of the battles, but I'm not the type of guy to stay home on weekends to watch KOTD for hours on end. One trend I've noticed, though, is that someone's ability to embarrass opponents based on pure wit and rapping ability hardly translates to making actual songs. One of the few to break the trend, however, is former Scribble Jam champ and L.A. native Nocando. Born James McCall, Nocando is an artist I've been following for a while, as he is a Project Blowed veteran and founder of Hellfyre Club, one of my favorite current stables. His current crew is full of oddballs, (I say that with complete endearment) and in comparison, Nocando is arguably the most tame of the core members, but his genuine ability to be comical, tell a few stories, and his brilliant pen game has made him my favorite of the group.
For one reason or another, rapper Nocando was able to assemble his own stable, the Hellfyre Club, a group heavily associated Project Blowed, hip hop's longest running art rap scene. It's one of the more interesting sub-genres, and Hellfyre Club has connected to create some what of a dream team. Several artist come and go throughout the mixtape, but the group runs off the contributions of four core members. Of course Nocando, the ringleader, controls a majority of the show, but he is accompanied by frequent collaborator Busdriver, Chicago rapper Open Mike Eagle, and milo, one of the genre's brightest stars. With the help of their friends, they've created Dorner vs. Tookie, the first in a series of mixtapes that will hopefully showcase their talents. "Accessible" isn't a word that aptly applies to the project, but for the amount of risks and storytelling thrown into one project, one can't help but be impressed with the fluidity their messages appear.
The quartet of core member all fall under the art rap label, but that's where the comparisons stop, as each member has defining characteristics. Nocando, along with being a great mic presence, fills his rhymes with undeniable humor, while Open Mike Eagle is the most introspective of the four. It's just an added bonus that he spits golden hooks. Firing blistering fast lyrics, Busdriver is one of the world's best technical rapper, while milo delivers his poetry in a slightly spoken word tone. I'm not sure what in the world happened, but the chemistry here is mind-boggling. Of course they all have impressive solo efforts, but there is some magic in these posse cuts. After an trap influenced intro, Hellfyre Club wastes no time getting to business with "DvT", a track featuring six artists. The groups avoids the previously assumed inevitable conjunction, as each member showcases why they were chosen to represent the Hellfyre Club. The term "art rap" comes off as polarizing and pretentious, but at it's forefront, Dorner vs. Tookie is about humor and boasting. Nocando and Busdriver come together with "Alligators", one of the mixtape's funniest moments. The two fantasize about finally getting rich, but blowing all their money on their favorite exotic animals, hence the alligators title. The album's highest boasting moments comes from Open Mike Eagle's solo effort, "Qualifiers". With his over the top hyperboles, Mike shows that he's the lone member with crossover potential. Even though Dorner vs. Tookie runs with comedy, it's attempts at being introspective is admirable. Most obviously is "Manchester", perhaps the project's finest moment. The hooks slanders the generic rapper that they consider lame, only to show that their ideas of being cool also leans towards being lame. The same goes for "Ecclesiastes", a solo track directed by the blissful poetry of milo. The song ends with milo repeating "You can kill each one of my best friends and I will write them songs on my palms like I didn't fucking notice." On another note, some of their comical songs shouldn't only be viewed an an attempt at a few laughs. "Degrassi Picture Day" is an admittedly hysterical concept about stressing over how good your school pictures turn out. The song idea is great in the first place, but a quick look at the lyrics shows the intricate wording of Mike and Busdriver. Most of the songs contain several layers of depth that can only be found with repeated listens. For a mixtape, the project flows along brilliantly aside from a mid album road block. "We On" and "Give A Fuck" both sound out of place, as the subject matter never really delves much deeper than the titles would lead on. Neither song is all that terrible, and if they had been spread across the project they would be less noticeable. The real kicker is that they appear back-to-back. The project never completely derails, but it takes some adjusting before preparing for the second half of Dorner vs. Tookie. Those two aside, the fluidity of the project is actually one of it's greatest strong-suits.The term "mixtape" automatically leads to the belief that it will be a random grouping of tracks, and that's usually the case, but Dorner vs. Tookie is a major exception. Each songs seamlessly transcends into the next, building off the chemistry acquired over years of working as a team. Each droopy instrumental, while having a distinct sound, sounds like should be on this project. All of the artist are uniquely weird, but they know how to build off each other and make an incredibly cohesive listen. Dorner vs. Tookie is just another example of why it's impossible to assemble random talents and expect results as good as this. Rating: 3.5/5 |