Dabbla – “BLOTS” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee & Potent Funk Records co-founder Dabbla teaming up with local producer Ghosttown for his 2nd solo EP. Both of whom formed the Dead Players alongside Jam Baxter until Dabbla made his solo debut in 2016 off Year of the Monkey followed by the debut mixtape Chapsville under High Focus Records & the sophomore effort Death Moves respectively. Coming off Nobody as well as Bad Tuesday & G.W.O.A.T. (Greatest Wanker Of All-Time), it was intriguing to hear the LDZ & Problem Child member returning to High Focus with Ghosttown by his side throughout the duration of BLOTS ahead of Nino Bryant becoming the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion this weekend.

“Shoosh” opens with what’s easily my favorite track here from the bassy trap beat to the rapid-fire flow & lyrics about being UK hip hop royalty whereas the 3rd & final single “Paper Boats” featuring PAV4N links the pair up to flex leveling up on some next shit. The 2nd single “Karate Good” featuring Dubbledge goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally having both of them wishing a muhfucka would just before the lead single “Bang” featuring Tis Zombie spits that gun talk pulling from trap once again.

Succeeding the “My Guy” interlude, “Uh Oh” begins the 2nd half of BLOTS fusing trap & jazz rap explaining that the true meaning of boredom is when one’s lacking inner resources while “Yadda Yadda Yadda” featuring Smuj joins forces to talk about hearing a whole lotta bullshit out these people’s mouths. The closer “Nonsense” sends off the EP with him over a woodwind so he can take aim at those speaking in balderdash.

Chapsville still remains my favorite solo project Dabbla has ever made almost a decade later so when I heard Ghosttown was fully producing BLOTS, I was hoping for it would surpass Bad Tuesday in becoming the most celebrated extended play of the 2 we’ve gotten from him & I certainly did it enjoy it more than it’s 2022 predecessor by only a slight margin. My criticisms of this EP lie more with them overloading it with guest appearances for nearly every son, but I can respect Ghosttown’s chaotic trap production & Dabbz recapturing the spirit of his LDZ days.

Score: 3/5

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Dead Players – “Faster Than the Speed of Death” review

The Dead Players are a hip hop trio from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of producer Ghosttown alongside emcees Dabbla & Jam Baxter. Making their eponymous full-length debut in the summer of 2013 under High Focus Records, they would later follow it up in the fall of 2015 with a sophomore effort called Freshly Skeletal until they embarked on an indefinite hiatus. They’ve surprisingly decided to reunite 1 last time for their 3rd & most likely final studio LP a few weeks away from former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, EVOLVE Champion, 2-time 新日本プロレス世界認定TVチャンピオン, 3-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, PWG World Champion, 2-time GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグチャンピオン, 4-time RPW British Heayweight Champion & 3-time RPW British Tag Team Champion Zack Sabre Jr. facing the current 2-time IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン内藤哲也.

“The Sooner We Die, the Sooner We Can All Go Home” begins with a sample-driven trap intro talking about what they’ve been up to since we’ve heard from them last whereas “Alaska Spearfishing” embraces a back-&-forth style of delivery wittily trading 8 bars with one another. “Just Above Water” talks about their ability to not let their struggles weigh them down while “Refried Nights” promises to stay weird throughout this final year of activity.

As for “Dustbowl”, we have Ghosttown going for a more somber vibe instrumentally so Dabbla & Jam Baxter can advise to never split your winnings with a thief leading into the 2-parter “Major Curse / Icepick” starting boisterously until hooking up a woodwind during the beat switch talking about coming back so they can crush some cities & switch it up again. “Bloodsuckers” however puts their chemistry in the spotlight once again to finish off the 1st half asking how those kind of people feel.

“Welcome Back Oh Cruel, Cruel Behemoth” kicks off the last leg of their coda sampling some violins & mixing it with some hi-hats talking about death not really being all that convincing to them while the 2nd single “Death by 1,000 Cocktail Sticks” speaks of the 1st life always being free of charge, hence why they’re living theirs quickly. The 3rd & penultimate single “Gasoline Sazerac” on the other hand advises to do your thing regardless of the world getting sapped of all meaning.

The lead single “Cherry Turbo” dropped 14 months earlier as a way of celebrating 10 whole years Players’ foundation going back-&-forth with each other without the need of a hook while “Neon Soup” talks about their thumbs ringing when they’re high whilst their lives flash in their faces. “Blue Crab Linguine in the Frosty Underworld” bittersweetly wraps up the album asking if everything sorted itself out the way they hoped.

Celebrating their evolution & staying true to the previous iterations of themselves, what could very well likely be the last time the Dead Players get back together sounds a lot more trap-oriented than self-titled & Freshly Skeletal were in earlier 2010s maintaining the signature abstractly hardcore lyricism that’s always made them stood out. Living up where the predecessor left off thematically, Faster Than the Speed of Death gives a peek at where the trio is now in their lives as they look back at their old selves along the way. Can’t forget to compliment Telemachus’ engineering either.

Score: 4/5

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Dabbla – “Nobody” review

This is the 3rd studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee Dabbla. Known for being 1/3 the Dead Players as well as 1/3 of LDZ & 1/4 of Problem Child, he eventually made his solo debut in 2016 off Year of the Monkey followed by the debut mixtape Chapsville under High Focus Records & the sophomore effort Death Moves respectively. Only a couple months after the world shut down entirely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Potent Funk Records co-founder Sumgii’s being enlisted to produce Nobody.

The title track sets the tone of what’s to come advising one to save their expertise until it helps them blow up for the purpose of seeing who really supports him & doesn’t whereas “Out My Way” admits to being a little crossfaded over a boom bap instrumental. “Trenches” goes for a psychedelic direction getting real sick & tired of all the bullshit around him while ”Shimmy” hooks the kicks & snares back up to talk about the only thing we need to do is be ourselves.

“Rare” ends the 1st half of the album confesses of him hustling for the funds because of the rarity in it just before “Same” gets the 2nd leg going returning to the boom bap talking about how neither his address or his number have changed since becoming successful. “Enough” vividly describes a relationship falling apart in front of our very eyes & the woman being fed up with all the bullshit she’s dealt with for so long over an industrial beat while “Explain” talks about having this funny melting feeling inside his brain driving him nuts.

Nearing the conclusion of Nobody, the song “Lucky” discusses his gratitude of taking all the risks he had to in order for him to be in the position he’s at now in his career while “Formless”could have the quirkiest instrumental here talking about these shapeless artists having no capability of outdoing him because of the lack of cutting edge boundary-pushing talent. “Junk” spends the last 3 & a half minutes of the album

Death Moves was merely ok to me a couple years earlier, but Nobody could be the greatest thing that’s ever come out of Potent Funk Records delivering a full-length that I enjoy equally as much as if not more than Year of the Monkeyconsidering it captures the chemistry of the label’s founders in a way that sticks out differently than either of Problem Child’s projects shedding light on the lethal combination of Sumgii’s sonically varied & bass-driven production or Dabbla’s cutthroat syllables & dynamic flows.

Score: 4/5