producers: jesse sprinkle

The other day someone asked me, how come all people talk about 'good Christian emcees' and never about 'good emcees that happen to be Christian'. The simple answer would be that there aren't any. One a little more difficult would be, that saying a good Christian emcee is just descriptive, and that some people still find it necessary to make the distinction between Christian and not. However, another option could be, that people don't know a good emcee when he's shoved down their ears.

Enter Dirt. Definitely someone that would like to get rid of the distinction. Still, him and also Braille, are referred to as good emcees. Note the period. Now, Dirt is introduced by the Shadow Of The Locus and the good people at Syntax records are releasing the project. Of course, that makes it kinda hard to ignore the distinction, however, a focus on it would be just as wrong. And with a disturbing artwork, a title that has us wonder ('yo, I thought it's all about peace, dude'), we are quite aware that this here will not be just of the normal blah blah, bling bling, holla holla kind. Or like the cover almost hidden states: "Listen to a man go from hell to heaven and back again. A tormenting quest for answers. A struggling search to find God...Listen to a man struggle and see where you can relate".

Split into four sections, we approach the first one called "1st Ration: Broken Reed...Matt.12:20", and we are led through to stand before "Untitled", that is a instrumental opening, paving the way for the contribution of Akhon Apire on "Harlot", that is more a letter and suffering explanation, than a spoken piece of poetry. "Blunted Edge" then is the first 'proper' track with a nicely done whispering left and sometimes right. Mike Czeck handles the turntables, Jesse Sprinkle the blending and Dirt the first chapter of his scroll. However, when the track becomes guitary, it becomes skip tempting. A crossover we didn't see coming and could have done without. On the "2nd Ration: Tug Discerned...Rom.7:23" Dirt further pays respect to "Christ" with the guitar still being around (and like all live instruments on here played by The World Inside) and this is almost operating as a bible lesson, as we are definitely listening to what could be a sermon. Old school video game sounds open and are kept through "Scriptures", that again gets too guitary (again with the help of The World Inside) and sounds as live as it was played. We then shake hands with the guest on "Saving Private You", who happens to be 7Lock. At the same time, this is a one track ration, the "3rd Ration: Recovery...Isa.57:18" and seems to be a missionary track.

Now we enter the last and longest ration of the record, it being "4th Ration: Drug Dialect...Acts 26:18", that starts with another "Untitled (Hey Dirt)" track, with the extra '( )' though. Jimi Hendrix is being used, and used creatively and flipped, to very nice effect, making this a meaningful interlude. "Royal Rucus" sounds somewhat 'heard before', but in a good way. At least so that we enjoy the cut that features Faze and statements from Dr Benjamin Brain. Dirt is not suffering from a wack delivery or flow too, and despite his quirky voice, he's able to keep us listening during the whole track.

The next cut "Essence" goes for the straight up hip hop spitting. And this style of braggadocios is just remotely recognizable as such, what isn't a bad thing. This manifest for hip hop uses nice organ and vibes, as well as a Jeru sample, to create a butter track. The vibe is definitely continued on "Devils Heaven", that once more uses a recognizable sample, with Dirt resisting temptation and the temptator. A magical string dominates the beginning of "Judas Amongst Us" (feat. Messenger, 2211), that explores interrelations of friendships, making the approach easy to relate. The sound changes quickly and settles with something lower in tone.

We are quite glad that Dirt left The World Inside house band behind, as this part of the album, with the straighter hip hop beats is much better. That's why "Shanghai Burning" is also pleasing our ears. The rhyming also seems to be better fitting, and Dirt lives off his content, more than off his delivery, that can't be called flawing though. On "2Laws" (this track is called "Divine Lines" inside the sleeve) we are again being visited by a host of guests, here they are Messenger, GoldenChild and Epsilon. There's a flute on here, that makes it barely Arabic, kinda like the homeland (and no, this isn't a political statement). Of course the minds that connect here, are in relation to each other, as contradictions don't find a ground to settle around these parts. Also "Holy Burn" is pleasing us with its beat, and GoldenChild sticks around to lend his voice to these rhymes, that touch the subjects of the believes, and this appears like a philosophical support.

Oh well, The World Inside return on "Dirty Rotten". We are very happy though to just skip this and check out "Divine Lines" (or "2Laws"), that is built around a simple guitar loop, that's kinda Wu-ish, what is giving the emcees the chance to once more do some straight spitting, intertwining a jewel here and there, without schooling us. Finally then, well at least finally to the 'official' track listing, we come across "Nag Champa", that is followed by two hidden cuts, one being "Freeverse" (feat. GoldenChild and Messenger) and the other being "Girl That's Bad!" from 1993, and it sounds like that.

So then, what's to say about this in retrospect? As we stated, the tracks featuring The World Inside are quite unfortunate, especially as the other tracks prove how dope Dirt is without them. And that's pretty much all there is to say. The folks that refer to Dirt as a good emcee, seem to be kinda right.