Datkid – “Wakmo” Prod. by Illinformed (Album Review)
This is the 6th studio LP from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Datkid. Beginning as a part of the Split Prophets, he began embarking on a solo career in the summer of 2011 off Dkay n Gramma as well as a subsequent sophomore effort called Home by 8 a little over 8 months later & Teeth Ledger. Confessions of a Crud Lord produced by Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog of The Four Owls under High Focus Records has already become one of the label’s greatest releases, coming off Sleepless in Pinhoe to have Illinformed fully produce Wakmo.
“Take the Wheel” opens up shop incorporating this bloodcurdling boom bap instrumental talking about his mind state being all or nothing whereas “Thick Lip” hooks up a ghostly backdrop layered with kicks & snares speaking of him trying to upgrade his life. “1 Way or Another” talks about being so bucked to the point where he forgot what he got high off of & pressing for numbers when stressed leading into Bil Next & Wish Master helping him explain they get busy where it’s “Crooked”.
Sean Peng joins Datkid on “Look Up” telling all the lazy muhfuckas who stay hungry to get up off their asses & chase a bag just before “Nothing But” featuring Leaf Dog talks about driving cars like they stole ‘em when that’s most likely the case & refusing to let anyone sit near them if they have nothing to offer. “Where You At” keeps that crud packaged & delivered advising everyone who’s looking for him to come find him while “Aktive” talks about having too much game for pussy rappers to handle, later suggesting those nearby to keep it friendly & not tempt him because hems been keeping his composure.
“Thorn in Your Side” featuring Babylon Dead blends these strings with more kicks & snares seeing the jealousy in the eyes of people who hold envy towards Datkid & Jman for being the successful underground artists they’ve become while “Chitchat” featuring D£DW8 reaches the halfway point with the 2 talking about haters fearing their greatness. “Don’t Lie” featuring Crossbow T & Mistafire contemplates the idea of leaving the trio’s competition missing like Jimmy Hoffa while “Steve Harper” featuring Smellington Piff trades the mic back-&-forth for a few minutes.
Instrumentally, “Line It Up” somewhat reminds me of the Outsidaz joint “Get the Dick” off Bizarre’s solo debut EP Attack of the Weirdos! making wine out of everything he’s being hearing through the grapevine while “This Place” talks about making money to spending it frivolously. “Scrub Your Hands” featuring ManLikeMally speaks of being corrupted from the very beginning while “Fentanyl” featuring Babylon Dead, Bil Next, Eric the Red, Jack Jetson, Res One, Tona Montona & Wyatt Earp made for a decent UK hip hop posse cut.
The title track ruggedly talks about catching cases on top of shutting down every spot he pulls up to while “Dole Benefit Claimers” featuring Res One links back up so they can get discuss always being up to shit giving a fuck less regarding who likes it or not. “Dunno” featuring BVA & Verb T samples “40 Oz.” by D12 during the hook talking about all 3 of them smoking weed & drinking alcohol while “Slime” finishes with him trying to stick to the game plan making money although it doesn’t go that way sometimes.
Sleepless in Pinhoe a couple months ago left me torn in comparison to Confessions of a Crud Lord& despite liking Wakmo more than it’s predecessor merely 7 weeks earlier, there’s a part of me that believes I could’ve enjoyed it way more because the singles that teased for it had me under the impression it would be my 2nd favorite Datkid solo project. Illinformed’s production takes it back to the traditional boom bap sound instead of continuing to experiment with trap music, but there is some occasional filler & he didn’t have to bring a guest performer besides throughout half of it.
Score: 7/10
