His sound and words have resonated through these pages for a decade plus. His struggles and successes have in many ways inspired me to keep going…keep pressing. His sound and lyricism are for the people. It’s for the streets…it’s for those in their 9 to 5s…it’s for those who can celebrate their successes…and for those who take their losses. This is who M-Dot is.
With all that being said, M-Dot has made some amazing music over the years. He’s had some fantastic songs. He’s had game changing collaborations that one could only dream about. He has a lot to hang his hat on by the end of the day. But has he made his opus? Has he made the album where everyone says unequivocally: “That’s his best work!” Now enter producer, Confidence, and their latest album, Library Of Sound.
M-Dot has NEVER in his career utilized one producer to synthesize the entire sound for an album. And that in and of itself speaks volumes to Confidence’s ability to give this project a powerful musical direction. You can hear song by song, how the two are in step to deliver something special.
From the jump, on No Bail Out, you know that M-Dot is not here to mince words. He’s hear to deliver testimony to all the things he sees in hip hop that are an afront to who he is as an artist. He goes after the cliches…the tough talk…and the fabricators. All perpetrators of the culture are on notice as Confidence initially hits you with a crooning vocal sample and then lays those drums down hard so M-Dot can dispell the smoke and mirrors:
You a shooter but a shooter keeps it on the low / You a seller but a seller don’t let no one know / You’re swimming upstream against the current now it’s time to row / And posting on IG ain’t grinding bro
In my mind, the undisputed best track is the single Rollercoaster. Confidence really outdid himself with this one! The soul injected into this joint is unparalleled. The vocal samples. The claps. Those drums. It just delivers an uplifting vibe to go along with M-Dot’s story which displays those twists and turns we all inevitable encounter in one way or another. It’s a song that shows our emcee’s humility, his thankfulness, encouragement, and frienship.
I got plenty to be grateful…for my man Rev / If I was hanging off a cliff he’d be on that same ledge / With his hand out reaching to help / We did what major labels did but achieved it ourselves
A shout out to a friend and the unwavering fortitude it took to make it to this point!
I want to at least touch on the couple of tracks featuring singer, Alexander Padei. Roadwork and The Reign. These tracks really give this album so much depth. Confidence is a musical alchemist creating something that is a definitive head nodder, yet soulful, and gives you something to make you smile, while our emcee unleashes dope bars in succession. And Padei is absolutely the right ingredient to make these not just good tracks, but great songs.
On that note of “great songs”, the track I will close on is the one with close collaborator, Kore. The Runaround, is the culmination of all of M-Dot’s hard work. People doubted him. People thought he was wasting his time. But his dream didn’t die and neither did his endurance. He shook off every loss, and every time he makes a project it’s verifiable success and testament. And quite honestly, Kore’s voice (I’ve said this before) has a hypnotic quality that has you singing along which is a gift.
This album is a focused effort by both emcee and producer to create something that breathes life into hip hop. Many of the topics in the album have been approached before but not in the same manner. Confidence brings not just dope beats and rhythms, but a presence that M-Dot hasn’t had before and he does it with consistency. There is a measure of soul imparted into each track, and everything feels well placed and purposeful. In previous albums, M-Dot has always included these darker moments and these somber realities, and while those have their place, you don’t find them here on this album. He is fully channeled into the moment where great efforts and sacrifice yield to great music…and lets that stand alone on Library Of Sound.
Hip Hop Dependency 