Emerging
from New York’s highly competitive battle-rap scene in the
late 90’s, Double A.B. made a name for himself by winning
high profile battles thanks to his sharp punch-lines and clever
wordplay. Following his Scram Jones produced mixtape and U.S wide
tour alongside GZA, Double A.B. finally drops his second full
length effort, ‘The Diesel’. Featuring guest appearances
from the likes of Cormega, Vast Aire, C-Rayz Walz and productions
by Dub Sonata and Elio Schiavo, ‘The Diesel’ is a
skitless, 64minute slice of thumping and thought-provoking hip-hop
that takes listeners on an narrated cruise through the grimey
streets of the Rotten Apple.
Shifting
from the highly charged to the light-hearted, ‘The Diesel’
features 16 tracks of new-skool hip-hop grounded in the descriptive
and altogether entertaining ideologies of the old-skool originators.
Take ‘Maxine’ which is a unique and brilliantly executed
ode to Double A.B’s favourite vehicle that see’s him
flow in a relaxed yet ferocious manner over a deep, dark and organic
micro-orchestral dubscape sounding akin to a slow motion, underwater
waltz. Memorable bars like “well built bitch killin’ya/
active haze deliverer to familia” and a driving chorus in
which he spits “Yo none of these dames match Maxine/ my
personal taxi, kept me moving fast speed/ she took me on runs
selling mad weed/ even though I left mad stains in her back seat”
contrast exquisitely with the beat to create one of the finest
tracks of the year. A standout track from Dub Sonata’s excellent
‘On The Arm’, the politically charged ‘Revolution
Pt.2’ puts micro-issues into macro-perspective with on-point
bars like “I ain’t concerned with trying to be hardcore/
I’m concerned with genocide, bodies in Darfur/ while you’re
trying to shave a few points off your golf-score/ I’m trying
to save a few lives, see Babylon fall”. Moving further into
the album, the smoky and noir-ish Stoupe-esque production of ‘Cuban
Cigars’ captivates listeners with its rolling beat, classic
Latin vocal backdrop and focused spittage whilst the dizzying
wordplay and classy metaphor wrangling of the dubby, guitar-orientated
‘Love Potion’ showcases a unique urban love-song that
you won’t be afraid to pump in your whip while chilling
with the man-dem. ‘New York’ is yet another jewel
in ‘The Diesel’s’ crown that contemporises the
gritty early Mobb-Deep aesthetic to create a futuristic and driving
slice of big-pimpage. Towards the end of the album, the six MC
strong title track ‘The Diesel’ churns energetically
on a minimalist and futuristic big-beat triggered soundscape.
From
the insanely fast spittage on ‘What to Do???’ to the
laidback and heartfelt flows of ‘Double Dutch’ Double
A.B. proves to be a highly versatile rapper and his album, ‘The
Diesel’ proves to be a thoroughly versatile affair that
successfully explores urban sub-genres with unflinching ease and
consistency. Refreshingly, the lyrics from many of the tracks
feature in the booklet, allowing listeners to see for themselves
the depth and poeticism of Double A.B’s lyrical content.
Be you a fan of the commercial scene or the underground, grimey
gangster-rap or content-heavy backpack rap, ‘The Diesel’
has enough depth to keep you locked in. (AM)
For
fans of: Dub Sonata, RA The Rugged Man, Outerspace
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