DMP (http://www.verserecordings.com) will take you back to the days of listening to hip-hop tapes on big boom boxes; in other words, this is in-your-face and energetic rap music, old-school in its primal beats and massive sampling but also indebted to the political econsciousness of Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions.
These lads have plenty to say about the state of black life in America; however, some of it is expressed through a cynical sense of humor instead of misanthropic rage. Particularly stinging is the parody of "Wheel of Fortune" called "Skit," which actually isn't a musical piece but a piece of painfully real commentary done as a TV game show. In it, guys from poor black neighborhoods are given prizes that reflect their miserable lives, including "a year's worth of child support." It's pure genius.
Elsewhere, DMP (it stands for "Dollars Mean Profit" in case you're wondering) recall the boisterous rhyming and explosive energy of the Beastie Boys on "It Was All a Dream" and "Pulling Rank." On "It Was All a Dream," DMP throws out a dirty laundry list of limited opportunities for boys in the 'hood, making money through drugs and violence or being sent to fight the war in Iraq. Yet DMP are not really confrontational; they're merely reporters, not self-righteous warriors.
|
Featuring J.J. Budget, Rob Relish, Vernon Stones, Filth Spot, and Tony Black, DMP are a pretty tight unit; their chemistry is almost like that of a rock band's, each functioning for the greatness of the whole.
|
