Dyl the Killsmith – “For The Cause” (Mixtape Review)

Dyl the Killsmith is an upcoming producer and songwriter from Houston, Texas. After earning recognition in the Houston underground scene with his project Emergence, Dyl wanted to put something together much more prominent for his next body of work. His newest tape, For The Cause, is a compilation album featuring some of the hottest underground artists in Texas. While the project certainly has its high points, there is a definite talent gap between some most of the rappers, which hurts the entire listening experience.

Each rapper featured on the project has an entirely different skill range, which makes For The Cause lack cohesion. Rappers such as MC KayoVee, Smitty Spread Love, and Balance spit great verses filled with metaphors, intriging wordplay, and a few quotable lines. At the same time, other MCs, including Ricatan and Balhead, have verses that are so unoriginal and bland they are painful to listen to. In addition, a good portion of the rappers featured sound very dull and uninspired. Prime examples come from Balhead, and Ottio, whose voices are very redundant and annoying with their choppy and staccato flows. Overall the album falls apart lyrically as most the featured rappers let Dyl down.

Sonically is where For The Cause thrives. Being produced by Dyl the Killsmith himself, it is very noticeable that he put his blood sweat and tears into the production. The beats are intuitive are diverse, making every track feel distinct from one another. Some instrumentals are gritty and dark such as “Chem Trail” and “Too Much” while others like “Trust” are bright and inspiring. Dyl does everything in his power to carry the poor feature performances with his skillful production, but, there is only so much he can do.

In conclusion, For The Cause shows off a few talented rappers potential but fails to engulf the listener in an engaging experience. Dyl’s production is very enjoyable but, the genric and bad MCs sink almost every track. Going forward, I hope Dyl the Killsmith can find some better talent to work with because his production skills are already excellent and have the potential to become even better with time. While For The Cause wasn’t the most enjoyable project, I’m still super excited to see what Dyl has in store in the future. Be sure to follow @dylthekillsmith on Instagram to see what he’s up too in the future!

Rating: 4/10

Highlights: Production, Good Vibes