New Music: All the World is Kayfabe - Working on Working Myself into a Shoot

 

 

 So I got the real treat of getting to hear in it's entirety the collaborative effort between Errol Hem and CKPITS (yep, the guy from that Dug EP I reviewed a bit ago) as All the World is Kayfabe, Working on Working Myself into a Shoot. Simply put, there is a huge amount going on here and I have only limited time to truly absorb it all, so I'm going to post a quick and dirty promo, review type thingy with the relevant details along with the Dimxsk stamp of approval (a much coveted accolade in music, up there with the elusive "my girlfriends brother said it's dope" and the "my mom didn't immediately say to turn it off" awards.)

So, ahem, STAMP. Check.

Anyway, what this here is is a "metawrestling themed" alt rap record produced by Errol Hem who also provides vocals alongside CKPITS. I actually feel even more out of touch than usual because I don't know what metawrestling is. Let me goggle it. That was unhelpful. Basically it seems to be a gimmick where the scripted action of pro-wrestling collides a bit with the real world aspects of the business. Anyway like I said, a lot to unpack here, and I'm probably not the best person to do that as I know nothing about pro-wrestling. I'm going to leave the concept behind and focus entirely on the artistic merits of the album.

Both of these cats have been doing this a while though, and the end result shows. The production is catchy as hell, with unusual and original bleeps and blips rhythmically dancing around colorful synth noises and the nasal, sarcastic and complex lyrical deliveries of the two emcees. In many places the heavy rap sound and weird interludes give way to moments of true beauty "(Going / Getting) Over", showcasing Errols raw talent as a musician, but all of it manages to flow with the confidence and consistency only years of experience seem to be able to provide.

This is quite a weird one. Going back over it now I'm actually reminded of, in not just the melodic electronic style of production but also the interplay and styles of the two rhymers, one of my favorite hip hop collaborations of all time, Friday Night (Hi-Fidel and Serengeti's pair of adventure concept albums). Both duos consist of rappers who can both rap to impress, or rap to warp the mind and make it look easy the whole time. Basically, just watch this video:

As you can see, this is one of those moments in hip hop where raw creativity meet songwriting prowess and the utter unconcern with convention to birth something truly unusual. I liked this stuff a lot and I suspect many of you will as well, probably some more than me because you might understand it a bit better than I...

Get Working on Working Myself into a Shoot through your favorite digital retailer this coming Halloween, or just do what I always do and get it on Bandcamp (maybe the Bandcamp Friday for November because why the hell not throw them some cash money).