Don’t sleep on this latest project from Dot-Com Intelligence. It came out on October 30th last year. I wasn’t familiar with Dot-Com Intelligence at all before checking this project out, but I gave it a chance because the album cover is really nice, and it’s got a feature from Defcee, who I’m a big fan of. It’s also got placements from several producers that I like, such as Cashmere P, Blaq Knight & Timepiece. I was just hoping that I’d enjoy this album to some extent, and I thankfully wasn’t let down.
Since this isn’t really a full review I’m only gonna be writing about a few highlights, but it should be noted that there aren’t any tracks that I don’t like on this album. The first song I wanna talk about is the title track, which is produced by Mike Digi. This is my favorite song on the album. I think Mike Digi’s production here is fucking awesome. It kinda reminds me of an old school Dungeon Family type beat to be honest. It sounds like something from ATLiens. The next thing that stood out to me was Intell’s deep voice. It kinda reminded me of that of Big Rube. I think he sounds really good. I really like the hook on this track too. One thing that I noticed about the first verse is that a lot of the bars don’t actually rhyme that well. However, he flowed well enough to keep me entertained. The second verse is slightly better in terms of the rhymes, but the main appeal is really just the lyrical content in my opinion.
Yo, I'm in my forties
I know heaven or hell is not above or below me
No fate but what you make
And the pain felt by me is definitely caused by me very surely
I took for granted that my life is all that I have
And I no longer wanna live it poorly
Just wanna be successful, have the ability
To move wherever I wanna move, bein' perpetual
Bein' my own property that's intellectual
The best part of the song to me is the hook honestly. The production and hook are just really goddamn good, which is the main reason I like the song so much. The rapping is cool too though. I like the lyrics, even if the rhyme schemes aren’t super intricate. The song is dope as hell to me. Unfortunately none of the other tracks really blew me away as much as this one, but I still enjoyed all of them to some extent. The next song I wanna talk about is called Adam. The production here from RCM808 is glorious. It’s kind of electronic sounding, and it’s really lighthearted. It sounds very cheerful, which I appreciate. I think this track has one of Intell’s best flows too, especially on the second verse. He was actually rhyming pretty well too. I think I mostly dig this track for the production, but Intell’s performance was really good. The following track is another highlight entitled Suit & Fez. This one features some really good production from Cashmere P. It’s got a pretty nice hook, and I think Intell rhymed pretty well here, especially on the second verse. His flow is nice, although not particularly different from that of the other tracks. I kinda wish I had the lyrics for this record because it can be hard to make out some of what he’s saying, but I can tell just by listening that he actually puts effort into his writing. It’s certainly not generic, which I appreciate. The last highlight I wanna talk about is a song called Contenders. This was the most exciting song in the tracklist for me because it features Defcee, who had my EP of the year last year, as well as an artist named Rapper A.M., who I’d never heard of before. It’s got a really nice, tense-sounding beat from The Prxspect, and the first verse from Intell is pretty nice. His voice sounds really good over this production. Defcee of course killed the second verse.
Years ago you'd have seen me holdin' a beer
Smoke blown in the mirror, skully over my ears
A born loser, mourning what I thought was a sure future
Or life in the psych ward, pawin' at torn sutures
Tell Virgil draw a smiley face on his prozac
Been cookin' for too long, ain't gettin' a stove back
He fit over this beat like a glove. However, I actually think Rapper A.M. had arguably the best verse on the song. He easily had the catchiest flow on the track. I think he murdered this song. I love how he rhymed “double back” with “bubblewrap.” That was fire. Honestly, that might actually be my favorite verse on the whole album. It’s really goddamn good. The song is really dope overall, and easily one of my favorites on the project.
This is a good album. Again, there’s not a single track that I don’t like. I kinda feel like I wouldn’t have enjoyed this project very much if the production wasn’t as good as it is, but Dot-Com Intelligence certainly isn’t a bad rapper. I think more variation in his flow and more dense rhyme schemes would probably push his music to the next level, but it’s already enjoyable for me as it is. I think Intell is from Maryland, which is technically considered a Southern state. He sounds way more Southern than any other rapper I’ve ever heard from Maryland though. He reminded me of guys like Black Native and Spaceman Jones. I think he’s got a great voice for rap, and really good taste in production. I’m glad I checked this project out, and I encourage y’all to give it a listen. It’s dope. Check it out.
Favorite Song: Purpose
Least Favorite Song: Mau Mau Revolution
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