Artist: Dirtbag Dan
Album: The Dirtbag Dan Mixtape
Source: Dirtbag Dan’s Blog
Tracklisting:
1. Andy’s First Call
2. Foolish Girl
3. Money ft.Copywrite
4. Andy’s Second Call
5. DBD Mash Up
6. Devil Do
7. Do Something ft.Madness
8. Get A Job ft.Cadillac Ron
9. Goons Go Get Ya ft Abel Abilities,Rey Resurreccion & Ren
10. S.O.D
11. South Beach Samba ft.Dirt Nasty,Madness & Andre Legacy
12. There’s An End (Rmx)
Note:
This review is a long time coming. The Dirtbag Dan Mixtape was dropped in January and here I am, approximately three months later, commenting on it. Well, in this case I guess some news is better than no news.
Dirtbag Dan, as some of you know, has cut his teeth in independent hip hop through the Grind Time Battle circuit. And anyone who knows anything about Grind Time, knows it is not for the faint of heart or weak of wit. Dirtbag Dan has shown and proven to be a winner in all phases of battling, but when I saw he had a mixtape, I wondered if he could switch gears and put some good songs together. With the The Dirtbag Dan Mixtape being the proverbial proof in the pudding, the answer is that he does put together good music.
The mixtape is a short and quick listen. It comes in at just over 30 minutes long. There are twelve listed tracks but two of them amount to skits. But still there is a lot of hip hop to be found in the remainder of the mixtape.
Foolish Girl is bound to be a fan favorite. The production features a sample lifted from The Shirelle’s classic, Foolish Little Girl. This is not the type of sound that you typically hear in hip hop which makes it all the more fun. The early 1960s sound blended with today’s hip hop drums is memorable. Dirtbag Dan drops some bars addressing and analyzing a girl’s actions and motivations in the ‘relationship’. The morale of the story that I took away from the track was, ‘you can’t turn a hoe into a housewife’.
Do Somethin’ features another Grindtime affiliate, Madness (from Critical Madness). Sklyar G. brings a certain a certain funky feel to the track by using what sounds like a funk guitar twang (been wrong before). The song is certainly braggadocio, aggressive, and features a little contempt for those who attempt to emcee, but not as well as them. It’s one of those tracks that are sure to put you in beast mode.
Goons Go Get Ya is an ill posse cut. The production again comes courtesy of Sklyar G. The beat is really interesting on this track as the synth bends and contorts around the drum pattern. The rhymes are hard impact on this joint. The emcees state that the dues have already been paid and they’ve had to work hard for what they’ve got. It’s a caution to new jacks who attempt the quick and the easy.
When you finish this mixtape you will have heard some dope music and a glimpse of the potential that is Dirtbag Dan. You can watch any number of YouTube videos to see Dirtbag Dan pummel Grind Time competition, but now you know that he can make music as well. You also will realize that producer Skylar G. is also very gifted. He was the producer oin all the aforementioned tracks. He orchestrated a lot of dopeness on this mixtape. I look forward to a new album from Dirtbag Dan with more solo jawns so we can see his work and progression as a solo artist.
Hip Hop Dependency 