On the eve of the U.S. Congress finally getting off their asses and voting on a pathway to Ukraine military aide, a perfect opportunity exists for recognizing great minds. No, we aren’t talking about those dysfunctional policy makers in D.C. What we should be focusing on is all the great musical minds coming out of this war torn eastern European country.
It is hard for some of us to understand how they are recording with constant air raid sirens. No doubt some have moved out of the country to seek safety and normalcy from this ridiculous state of affairs. But one thing is for sure, nothing is holding these artists back as this war moves into its third year. Artists like Klim continue to record great down beat, instrumental hip hop that we love to get our ears on here at Slackline Radio. Now, we have another set of creators to focus on.
Back in July 2022, DJ Shon released a classic head nod to the great sounds of the nineties with Take a Ride. This 13 track ensemble begins with the massive hook, Block, that was big enough to reel in the largest humpback. Well, we ain’t condoning eating any whale blubber. But, that single track alone was large enough for us to take notice. An appreciation of fast cars, deep hypnotic rhythms, and enough scratch to make your head hurt set this track on fire. We knew we should be waiting patiently at our favorite fishing hole for what may strike at the end of the line coming next from this man.
Shon’s catalog spans the universe of electronic sounds with the majority fitting nicely into the low BPM that our listeners come to expect. Fortunately, he never drives too far in his Cutlass down alternate roadways from what he does best. In March of this year, he teamed up with fellow country man, Jointjay, to release Strictly Dope Delivery on his Kickit recordings label. Jointjay made his introduction to the world of hip hop at a young age on the Frosty Water Crew on the outskirts of Lviv dancing, breaking, and embracing all that is true to the genre. So, it seems a natural progression as he began sewing his sounds to weave those with Shon. The result truly is dope.
There really is nothing to fault here on Strictly Dope Delivery as each track shows a level of maturity in sound. It’s impressive how these beats unfold, never carrying a repetitive sound, each forming their own unique contribution to this release. Check out Praying for You, the perfect sounds for an anthem of support to their brethren on the eastern front. High must have been the inspiration for the stellar cover of this release as the two are enjoying what they are after. Strictly Dope Delivery proves that you can never break the will of the people of Ukraine.
Let’s hope Moscow will do an about face so Ukraine may forge their own path in peace and let the creative juice continue to flow heavily for years to come. And while they are at it, it wouldn’t hurt if they fought their own internal battles by freeing those from the Chechen Ministry of Culture oppression and reverse their ridiculous BPM tempo mandate. ‘Absolutely Insane’.
Track Listing:
- Who said
- The same ones
- Coma
- Praying for you
- Be quiet
- Dude
- High
- Not alone
- Everyday
- Rub in
Listen here.
