Artist: M-Dot
Album: Daze Of Greed
Tracklisting:
- Greed Intro (prod. by Victor Keys)
- Willows Weep (prod. by M-Dot)
- Can’t Decide (prod. by Elliot the Producer)
- Hand In Hand (prod. by Pauly Cicero)
- Run Along (ft. Grand Puba) (prod. by The Might V.I.C)
- The Enemy Is Everywhere (prod. Vinny Idol)
- Certifiable (ft. Kore) (prod. Rawmatik)
- Close (prod. by Gajos)
- Essence Lifted (ft. Estee Nack & Ty Farris) (prod. by B Leafs)
- Unexpcted (ft. Big Shug) (prod. by Apollo Brown)
- Running Shoes (prod. by Roccwell)
- You And You (ft. Revalation) (prod. by M-Phazes)
- Avenues (ft. R.I.Q & Jay Cruz) (prod. by 88-Keys)
- Mic Check (prod. by Chill-ILL)
Review:
M-Dot is consistently featured on the site because he personifies what this site is about. It’s hard work, dedication, perseverance, and an uncompromising talent. Lots of trends and artists have come and gone in the last decade plus, meanwhile M-Dot is here with Daze Of Greed, showing once again that his way is the only way he walks.
This album continues a streak of a very personal way of making music but there’s much more to it than that. While tracks like Can’t Decide, Avenues, and Close detail a personal narrative, tracks like The Enemy Is Everywhere simply showcase a nastiness that M-Dot is still very capable of. You and You showcases a sense of humor and light-heartedness in music. But at it’s heart this album is very much a reflection of M-Dot and his career. So let’s go deeper…
The first track that really strikes me is the joint Can’t Decide. Elliot The Producer constructs a somber yet musically interesting backdrop. There is a snapping drum pattern, a vocal sample, and assortment of other ingredients added to the rhythm. I talk about depth a lot and this joint definitely has that on many levels. M-Dot releases his life lessons, his regrets, his burdens, and his hopes. This is a man who doesn’t have all the answers but is always looking and persevering through it all.
How can I concern myself with a cowardly man / I barely have time in a 24 hourly span / I am just trying to do right by my family / Fame causes problems, price of the vanity / And one issue equals twice the insanity / Never does a life go exact how you plan to be / Don’t forget that there’s beauty to the pain /Just look around whose their when you’re truly in the rain
This track blends perfectly into the next. Hand In Hand infuses the blues and pain in a fashion that only M-Dot can create. Pauly Cicero creates a sound that will make the most hardened heart wail. It’s here where M-Dot laments. He channels pain and answers the demons in the form of alcoholism, stacking bills, and broken relationships. It’s reality rap, but with the kind of rawness that you are not used to hearing.
On the joint, The Enemy Is Everywhere, M-Dot just needed to unleash a salvo of venomous bars. This is like if you accidentally picked the wrong day to test someone. This is the result. You get a Vinny Idol banger and M-Dot bringing war to your front door.
It’s bout time you caught on and seen the work we stacked / All your bars the same, all your verses wack / We ain’t alike accolades stack a mountain high / You say your counting checks run it back I’m counting lies
The last song I will touch on is my personal favorite. Close has an 80’s rock infusion from Gajos that I really enjoy when paired with this incredible chorus from EMS member, Kore. His voice, verve, and intonation play masterfully as the bridge that brings M-Dot’s verses. This is really a masterful song that blends talent in pain to make something beautiful.
Son’s mother testing my patience I’m going through it / Feeling like I put my life in this music I owe it to it / To never give up / Put less than my full effort in / Friends rooting for you but you know they hope you never win
There is pain here in Daze Of Greed. There are at times a feeling of futility as though life was not going to get better. But then there are also moments of hope. And the biggest thing…there is ALWAYS talent and perseverance and M-Dot has found that in his music. No matter how bad circumstances are in life, he keeps pushing forward…relentlessly. His music has matured, from the point of a man who could write a killer sixteen, to a man who can create not only great songs, but an album that’s capable of standing the test of time.
Hip Hop Dependency 