Northeastern Italy-raised DJ/producer Dee Jay Park officially started his career in 2008 and has worked with hip-hop luminaries such as Guilty Simpson and Leaf Dog. His other venture includes his unique mashup series that started with the EP Doomenico Moodoom, based on a mash-up between Domenico Modugno and MF DOOM. Rico Dallas is the musical persona of Enrico Dalla Vecchia, also known as eenreeco, a visual & graphic designer born in 1993 and raised in Schio, in the province of Vicenza. he is also a famed artist whose mash-up mixtapes see him pairing American rappers rhyming over classic Italian instrumentals.

 

Despite having individual success, these two hiphop veterans have now joined forces as Dee Jay Park & Rico Dallas to bring us Dilla e i Messaggeri della Dopa, a 10-track body of work that blends rhymes from Neffa with Dilla’s beats.  The beats from Dilla range from the songs he did for A Tribe Called Quest, Common, and Pharcyde to Erykah Badu.

The opening track “In linea” makes use of the instrumental of “Like It Like That” by A Tribe Called Quest and showcases Neffa’s smooth flow and laidback demeanour. he embodies the spirit of the 90s with his own distinct style and gives listeners something refreshing and nostalgic. Dee Jay Park’s seamless vocal scratching also ties up the track. “Carcere a vita” embodies the soulful vibes of “Love is…” by Common and the duo keeps the integrity intact from start to finish. It’s a short track with just 1 verse from Neffa while Dee Jay Park closes it out with his turntablism display. The classic instrumental of  Pharcyde’s “Y?” is used on “ La Ballotta” and it is another lyrical display from Neffa. He also keeps it simple and smooth with a catchy hook. “Nella Pioggia” employs the smooth vibes of “Let Me Be The One” by Mint Condition and we see Neffa and both trade bars in both English and Italian. This is quite dope as one would not expect it and the duo delivers the goods. The instrumental of “Gobstopper” by J-Dilla gets a revisit on “ Puoi sentire il Funk “ and listeners are treated by Neffa’s bravado-laden bars. “Elementi” makes use of “Runnin” by Pharcyde and it’s another testament to the timelessness of Dilla’s beats as it sounds as if it were created yesterday. The emcees also come through on the clutch and hold it down with fiery flows and hard-hitting bars. “ Boogie loogie BPM” employs that hard-hitting beat of  “E=MC2” by J-Dilla and the result is a display of rap skill by the emcees. They keep it short with a long verse and hit the mark.

 

The beat of “The Look of Love” by Slum Village is used on “Vento Freddo “. This is a sombre and reflective tune that makes use of a smooth laidback melodic chorus paired with insightful bars. We get another soulful joint in the form of “Mistiche Vibre” which uses Erykah Badu’s  “Didn’t Cha Know”, here the emcee employs melodic flows that showcase the versatility and we get an interesting switch from the previous tracks. The final track “Nella Luce delle 6.00” makes use of the instrumental of “Baby” by J-Dilla and Guilty Simpson and gives us a solid closer with fiery bars from start to finish.

 

 

Keep up with Dee Jay Park | SoundCloud: Instagram

Keep up with Rico DallasInstagram

Previous post

Five Steez & Son Raw team up for ' Re:DEFined.' -[Album Review]

Next post

LEVEL 13 and Matt Maddox go for maximum "Impact"