Dumbfoundead- Old Boy Jon

I first caught wind of Korean-American rapper Dumbfoundead on the Shots Fired Podcast which is hosted by Jeff Weis and Nocando. Nocando was talking about how Dumbfoundead was a nice battle rapper and then i remembered "shit i have heard about the dude before." I never seen his face and being the racist bastard I am, assumed him to be black. Much to my surprise I peeped his video for New Girl and found out he was Asian and he looks exactly what i would expect an Asian rapper to look like. I was feeling it but then i remembered the reason why i looked him up in the first place so i went to go look at one of his battle raps. His wit is sharp and nice off the top but that got me worried because usually great freestylers do not make great records, Supernatural. But there are exceptions like Eminem so we'll so which side Dumbfoundead falls into with his 2013 release Old Boy Jon.

You Can peep the full album here: Old Boy Jon



Track to track there was no middle ground. They either sucked or was good and i did end up liking more tracks than not. I know it says 16 tracks but there are 12 because 4 of them are skits and interludes. The opening skit made no sense to me at all. Maybe he is trying to say he'll get famous one day so someone like Marilyn Monroe can seduce him in front of his family while singing happy birthday. The first thing you hear on an album is extremely important because it sets the tone for the rest of the project so it better come correct. In this instance it made no sense at all. I've said before i'm not a fan of skits unless they are done right and to be honest i wasn't even too mad at the second skit because it was an alley oop transition into 24KTWN, so i like how DFD was making his album flow. The tracks i wasn't feeling at all were Hell Houser, W$TDE, Damnit Duke, After Two, and Genghis Khan. The things that i hated about Hell Houser and Genghis Khan was that he was ripping off sounds of Meek Mill and Big Sean, not exactly the dudes you would want to emulate if you were to jack their style. I fucking hated Hell Houser's beat and that stupid Big Sean rhyme scheme because i was seriously just waiting for the guy to say "whoa there." Fuck Medium Sean. Then on Genghis Khan it sounded like he stole a Meek Mill beat that is supposed to be on Dreamchasers 3. The only thing that was different than Meek was DFD didn't YELLLIKETHISWHILENOTTAKINGANYBREATHSCUZMEEKMILLMAKESMETIREDJUSTLISTENINGTOHIM.
And what's up with artists nowadays basing their entire song around a person. That gimmick shit is whack...I got the moves like Jagger whoaooowhoaoooowhoaoooo. I hope Rick Ross sits on that trend and buries it. Or who knows Officer Ricky still might have some pull and can arrest people who rely on that gimmick stuff...Bitch Give Me Head, OCHOCINCO. Personally i blame Dave Chappelle because he was the one that started the whole "Kobe" thing but Dave can do no wrong so i blame everyone that is unoriginal and copied him.

Luckily for DFD the good outweighed the bad on this album. He is a hell of a storyteller. Not Scarface good, but definitely up there and i got to believe his battle rap background helped him immensely in that department. I liked Clear because that knocking beat and the Johnny Manziel line, but other than that he didn't say anything special. But other than that i wouldn't be hesitant to bump Shotgun, Stereojack, Evol You, and Born For This on a regular basis. I was digging DFD's flow on Shotgun and how he compared a girl to a shotgun. Works in multiple ways: you got to have a trusty woman by your side to get you through anything like how you need a shotgun to get you through disaster, and if your girl is riding shotgun with you in the front seat then she is right up there in the line of fire with you, no chauffeurs in that vehicle and always by your side. I like Stereojack because it's a musician worst nightmare which is people pirating their music. DFD says it's ironic because before he had any money he downloaded everything off the internet like 85% of America does because honestly who has enough dough to be filling up a 5,000 song library on itunes. I fuck with Evol You because 1) i dig the beat and 2) he is spitting from the perspective of his girl who is fed up with him because his aspirations are getting in the way of the relationship. All i gotta say is the girl should know what she is getting in to but whatever.

I didn't know what to expect from Dumbfounded so i can't say that i'm surprised or disappointed but i did dig the project. Like i said it was hit or miss but i do think that he accomplished whatever it is he set out to do. I love the man's storytelling ability and think he should try out a concept album becausei think he can pull it off. I'm 90% sure he isn't signed to anyone but i do think he has potential to break on through to the mainstream because he is different but at the same time that might be the thing that's holding him back. Remember how Jin turned out. As long as DFD doesn't turn into some Asian minstrel show and keep doing what he is doing i think he can make it because he has something to say but it is going to be an uphill battle for him. Shit it took Eminem to let white rappers become acceptable and Eminem is one of the greatest rappers ever which is a status DFD is no where near. I'm definitely going to keep my eye on him and will look for his past stuff to see how much he has grown. But yeah as stated before the tracks were hit or miss with me so maybe i have to listen to it again and i still have no idea what the point of the opening skit was.

Final Grade: B-

Aye and let me know if you guys prefer me reviewing albums track by track or this way. peace


Clipse- Grindin


Been on a pusha t hype for the past couple days and had to bring this one back. I know everyone did the beat on tables and desks.

Hieroglyphics- Make Your Move feat. Goapele


Bay Area's own is a truly overlooked and talented group of MC's