DUMP LIFE: THA GOD FAHIM, LEFT LANE DIDON & JAY NICE

Words by Pete Juxx-Hazzan

Dump Life serves as the highly anticipated, proper release to include both Immobiliare members (Jay NiCE & Left Lane Didon) and the Dump Gawd, Fahim; Prior to DL Jay NiCE and Fahim dropped Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. and Lefty and Fahim released Dumpacalypse Now. Both strong releases, no doubt, but this one here is the best output yet from the Delaware Boys and the ATLien. Armed with their extended family from Delaware and Immobiliare affiliates, Stack Skrilla, All Hail YT and Chris Skillz over some of the hardest beats heard in a minute!

Lefty and Jay NiCE go way back, both growing up in the same neighborhood in Delaware. After a 6-year prison stint, Lefty was ready to call the rap life quits, when Jay convinced him to come back to the game, and the 2 artists haven’t looked back since. As the Immobiliare crew and as solo artists, often featuring each other on their projects, the duo are at a point as talented artists where they know each other’s strengths, which is evident on Dump Life.

Cue the third member, the brazen and eccentric ATL rapper, producer and self-proclaimed “Dump Gawd,” Tha god Fahim. Fahim himself has inspired an entire genre of music to “dump” new music on the fans in a never ending flow of product. In this #SoMe day and age, Fahim found out early that visibility is vital if you wanna survive as an artist. With a work ethic and output unmatched by many, Fahim possesses a huge advantage over the rest of the spitters out there. With a catalog of 70+ albums/tapes in a matter of a few years he is without any doubt the front runner in the dumping game!

Lyrically the trio switches between spreading knowledge of self and subjects across a broader political spectrum, as they zoom in on the African American experience in today’s extremely socially, economically and racially divided USA. This blended with a healthy dose of braggadocio, in the form of blasting out all competitors, along with enough detailed violent threats to make the late, great Prodigy proud.

Juxx was able to connect w Lefty for some insight on the inception of the album:

Left Lane: “Fahim & NiCE always had the idea to do Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z 2, I brought in the Idea to call it Dump Life just to expand on the 2pac theme that S4MD put in place which led to Dumpacalypse Now & eventually Dump Life to just give all three projects some connective tissue.”

The album opener “2020 Renaissance” could serve as a comment to the new wave of underground artists, tending to gravitate towards a harder, boom-bap inspired sound with more complex lyricism than mainstream mumble rap. Often this (constantly growing) wave is being referred to as The New Renaissance. More literally, it’s a comment to the state of the world and the country they live in. It’s more of a call to arms rather than a cry for help from the trio; they demand for change, by any means necessary! In keeping true to 5 percenter terminology, one has to both build AND destroy! Through the 1st half of the album we get the more up-tempo aggressive war chants (Destroy), and on the 2nd its the more reflective (Build). The sound of the entire project was developed with the fine help of top beat makers JLVSN, The Architect, Benji Socrate$, Wavy Da Ghawd, Mute Won etc. Though the beats are handled by so many producers, because of the perfect sequencing and well thought out theme, there is no fillers or weak tracks to be found here. The album’s flow and pace is among some of the strongest in quite some time.

Left Lane on the intended duality of the album: “The intention of the album was to invoke the feeling of an unsettled group of individuals dealing with unrest and a desire to force change by any means necessary which would lead to a Renaissance or Rebirth of sorts…Hence the active first half which lead to the reflective back side.”

On DL Nice Supreme names himself the “Counter culture samurai.” He is Hattori Hanzo sharp, flexing effortlessly between threatening with specific and devastating techniques, as well as being both Malcolm X political and Ghandi spiritual. If Supreme is the Samurai in the crew, Fahim could easily be a mix between the General AND a soldier, as he is both head honcho of his own Dump Gawd empire and a featured artist. Fahim has a reach that surpasses most of his competitors, making him able to work with ANY dope artist he feels like. As a rapper, he is more direct in his flow, removing all obstacles for the Immobiliare killers to go nuts. Finally, Lefty sneaks in on you like a silent assassin, the Ninja of the gang. He may not speak that fly shit in the same way as NiCE, but without even noticing it, over just 16 bars Lefty has just eradicated you and your entire crew. There’s a reason he opens the album, with a fierce verse to set the tone and the pace of shit to come. He’s followed up by the freelance killers Chris Skillz, All Hail YT and Stack Skrilla. YT has gone from rapper with a double time flow, once featured in the Source legendary Unsigned Hype column, to a lethal lyricist, easily switching between a (the real Freeway) Rick Ross and a Malcolm X persona. Skrilla shows why he sometimes shines the brightest when featured on Immobiliare’s projects. His features on Dump Life are among his illest in a good while. Skillz is super slick with his bars on the jazzy “Settled Dust.”

LLD on how the recording for DL went down: “We recorded the bulk of the project between late last June and & the middle of July. After the Wop Konn Joj event in New York, Fahim came back to Delaware with us. We BBQ’d like everyday, went to the beach a few times, went to Firefly, kicked it, locked in for like 3 weeks and knocked it out.”

In these times of immense unrest and anxiety, Dump Life comes as a purification of sorts, being both political, spiritual and Hardcore all at once; the perfect score for the mad times we live in. You better join the movement before you get left behind, Dump Life IS here!