Haverstraw, New York emcee Pro Dillinger completing the Dirtwave trilogy with his 9th LP. A member of the Umbrella collective as well as 1/2 of The Steiner Brothers, he has released a total of 5 mixtapes along with his last 8 albums & even 7 EPs. Favorites include the Finn-produced debut Pray for My Prey, the Machacha-produced Dirt Don’t Hurt, his 3rd EP MOSFoul, the Sting vs. Flair collab EP with Mickey Diamond & the Steiner Brothers’ eponymous debut. Dirty Work celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary earlier this summer & the dirtiest of the Umbrella brought Sean Kelly back to handle production for Reasonable Dirt much like Forever Foul & more recently the Futurewave produced Dirtwave alongside it’s sequel becoming his most acclaimed work to date. To finish the month of August, a 3rd installment arrives with eager anticipation.

“Follow the $$$” was a drumless chipmunk soul intro talking about the battery in his back getting charged up whereas “King” by The Steiner Brothers featuring Big Trip finds the trio coming together for a luxuriously hardcore boom bap track. “Never Going Broke” chops up a vocal sample to talk about the relatable goal of not losing it all financially while “Church St.” reflects on the days of doing whatever he wanted and on the titular street.

Meanwhile on “Scarface”, we have Pro Dillinger talking about how counting money is a habit for him & not needing any friends because he has a whole lot of enemies as it already is over a boom bap instrumental leading into “Road 2 Riches” breaking down the military minded mentality he & the rest of The Umbrella has. “Fentanyl” featuring Estee Nack links the pair up so they can talk about making it to the big leagues just before “Ain’t No Killer” calls out some bluff.

“Old Lungs” featuring Daniel Son nears the end of Dirtwave 3 with a jazzy boom bap beat talking about being the same despite their respective takeovers of the underground while “Dirtmusic” removes the jazzier elements for a dedication to his fam who got it out the mud. “Bread First” closes up shop with 1 last chipmunk soul cut explaining his prioritization of money coming first.

The original Dirtwave & Dirtwave 2 have been rivaling each other for the past 10 months or so in becoming Pro Dillinger’s finest opuses of his career, but Dirtwave 3 maintains the hardcore hip hop/boom bap fusions that made both it’s predecessors so acclaimed except the production leans heavier towards the jazz rap & drumless chipmunk soul styles in comparison.

Score: 4.5/5

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This is the 8th full-length studio LP from Haverstraw, New York emcee Pro Dillinger. A member of the Umbrella collective as well as 1/2 of The Steiner Brothers, he has released a total of 5 mixtapes along with his last 7 albums & even 7 EPs. Favorites include the Finn-produced debut Pray for My Prey, the Machacha-produced Dirt Don’t Hurt, his 3rd EP MOSFoul, the Sting vs. Flair collab EP with Mickey Diamond & the Steiner Brothers’ eponymous debut. Dirty Work celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary earlier this summer & the dirtiest of the Umbrella brought Sean Kelly back to handle production for Reasonable Dirt much like Forever Foul & more recently the Futurewave produced Dirtwave becoming his most acclaimed work to date. Keeping the latter in mind, both parties are now getting back together for a sequel.

“Heavy Heart” sets the tone with this cutthroat boom bap opener talking about how everyone else can’t ball with him & the rest of his squad whereas “Play the Game” works in more kicks & snare cautioning that the smoke’s gonna bide up. “Outside” featuring Shordie brings the pair together over an uncanny instrumental telling us what it’s like where both of them come from, but then “Stay Moving” passionately advises to keep it pushing.

Eto joins Pro Dillinger on “Honourable Activities” warns that your best friend could actually be your enemy in disguise & to never snooze while “New Sneakers” returns to the boom bap figuring out where to return the shots that were sent his way. “Mind My Business” somberly addresses those skating around the noise instead of not being there for it just before “Church Socks” featuring Bub Styles & Chubby God delivers a 3-minute hardcore joint.

“Bigger Picture” properly sets the tone of Dirtwave 2’s final moments hopping over this groovy beat to talk about the game being full of pussies this day in age calling the whole block broke since they ain’t chasing paper & “Pray 2 God” wraps it up with this drumlessly cloudy loop praying to the Man Above for him to bring Pro Dillinger’s enemies back because of the battery in his back at this point in his career.

Dirtwave last month surpassed everything that the Haverstraw lyricist had done in the past & the sequel as one would’ve anticipated going into it amplifies every single thing that made the predecessor so enjoyable whether it would be Futurewave’s superb production or the Umbrella’s dirtiest MC taking it up another notch with the pen for a half hour.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!