Album - DBL “Rappers Are In Danger.”
"Rappers Are In Danger." by DBL is an album that essentially chalks up to a compilation of freestyle cyphers recorded amongst stablemates and friends. Lengthy, bar heavy, and occasionally fun, this album is a hip-hop purist's dream, as the Baltimore collective ensures that bars take the forefront and everything else comes last.
DBL, otherwise known as Down By Law, uses this album to raise the bar in terms of a great cypher. This album boasts verses that could easily rank as any prototypical rapper's best verse, as each line carries a litany of anime references, Griselda influences, and pro-wrestling-related lines. You'll find yourself grinning at each rapper's cleverness while anticipating the next cunning bar barrage.
This album, in short, is a solid outing from the group, with every song allowing each member a time to shine. However, this does come at a cost, with the project racking up a hefty hour-long runtime. Something that hasn't happened or faced popularization since the early 2000s.
Whether that fact is a positive or negative is up to the viewer's discretion, as those with love for bars-manship will come to appreciate the writing effort of the Baltimore collective.
As mentioned earlier, during "Rapper's Are In Danger." Clever lines take the forefront, even above notable song direction, as you'll find yourself wondering if most of the songs have a point. But throughout most of the album, you'll find yourself answering that question with one answer, there is no direction, and that's okay. If you're looking for these tracks to have hooks, singers, bridges, or quality song structure, then you could look elsewhere. But if you're looking for head-spinning rhymes and freestyle-ready beats, then look no further, as this album provides it in spades.
By the album's end, you'll appreciate the album's early 90's aesthetic, as grit is one of the album's strong points. This album also avoids the issues associated with unground acts, and that's the quality of content. Having the project remain crisp in sound and consistent in its engineering.
With 17 songs, this album is a bit of time consumption. However, it can be an ear-pleasing experience to those who love the bygone era of boom-bap raps and street-corner freestyling.
