Dumbfoundead – We Might Die Review

Dumbfounded We Might Die

Released November 10, 2016

Track Listing

  1. Murals
  2. All In featuring Ca$Hpassion & KOHH
  3. Ancestors featuring Donyea G & YEAR OF THE OX
  4. We Might Die
  5. Safe
  6. Hit And Run featuring Nocando
  7. Cochino featuring Too $hort
  8. Harambe
  9. Banned In The Motherland featuring Jay Park, Simon D & G2
  10. Hold Me Down

Review

Dumbfoundead has been busy for the last three years. After Old Boy Jon, he did RUN DMZ, appeared in a few movies, returned back to battle rap, and even had a reoccurring spot on Power. In promotion of this album, DFD told Complex:

We Might Die was a tape reflecting the mood I was in looking at the world through my phone. The youth and older generation both feeling immortal while the world is crumbling down around us. I wanted to talk about living wild, death, and legacy on these tracks as I approach the end of my 20s. Sorry to be a downer but enjoy!

If anyone was expecting We Might Die to sound like his previous efforts, be prepared for a left turn. But even with an apocalyptic tilt, the risk brought him (and us) the reward. Exploring new sounds and new subject matter, and/or new angles makes We Might Die a project worthy to be near the top of the list of his best work.

Taking a page from Nas’s Illmatic, this album is short and sweet. Nothing is wasted here, nothing is useless, and everything works. Even in something like Cochino, where Dumb and Too $hort talk about their sexual escapades, the production gives it both a bounce that can be played at a party but also a foreboding mood that makes it seem like at some point; all the sex could go bad quickly for them.

Some of these songs were released earlier this year, such as Safe. There was backlash after Chris Rock brought out three Asian children for a stereotypical joke during his opening monologue of the Oscars, and DFD added Safe to that conversation. He has dabbled with some socio-political raps, but nothing to this degree. It’s a stand-out here, even months after its initial release. 

Harambe has Dumb uses the controversy around the gorilla as a metaphor for our world. Again, Dumb takes a shot at subject matter and music that he seldom approaches but succeeds at creating a good song and getting his message across.  

We Might Die is Dumbfoundead taking his phone and holding it as a mirror. It is concise and effective. This may not be what the Dumb people want to hear, but he wins you over after one listen. Although you can buy this album, he has also offered it free. Just like with Old Boy Jon, he’s gotta stop letting people listen to it for free. Then again, maybe that was the goal the entire time. 

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