Jamal Gasol “The World is PIFF Vol 2“

By P80 Parks

The Diadora Don is back with a dope LP full of tight production and elite features. His commanding vocals and punchlines will leave fans satisfied during their stay in PIFF world. Jamal Gasol has definitely shown a drive to reach new heights with this release, over a year in the making. Mr.31 pulls in some big names on The World is PIFF vol 2 with his production choices also showing an elevated focus.

On the title track, Gasol eases into things over a playful piano loop and chopped vocal loops, courtesy of Nicholas Craven. DJ Big Mike introduces “Get Down or Lay Down” as producer Golgo 13 lays down a thumper. An early standout comes, unsurprisingly from the fly, grand production of Buckwild on “Supreme Dreams.”

“First n***a in my town wit a beat from buckwild.”

Jamal Gasol: “I drove all the way to Newark to link wit Buckwild to get a beat. I sent the bread in advance, but to conversate with Buckwild while he was making a beat for me, building and politicin; why not? It was affordable and worth my time. Those are real live instruments too, that’s normally how he works.. look at his resume and check the production sound.”

Jamal is pretty open about how he operates, networks and builds his album, pragmatically and with a focus.

Jamal: “ I invested in this whole project from the features to production respectively. I’m not a fan of handouts but I won’t deny opportunities to advance when it makes sense. I had this project done almost a year ago but wanted to make sure it was complete in my own way. I got some feedback in advance; some was good and some was bad. I didn’t get discouraged, only encouraged to step my shit up. This the only tape from me this year so far, that wasn’t recorded this year.”

“Best smoke around” is, obviously the smokers track on PIFF Vol. 2 featuring fellow cannabis connoisseur and piffer, Vic Spencer. Jamal provides some introspection on “Fight and Fuck” as he details the challenges in relationships over poignant synth organs and stuttering hi-hats courtesy of KrazyFingers. The curent lyrical queen of hip hop, Che Noir lends her talents to Jamal, but in a different capacity here. The Buffalo emcee contributes her dope production on “Futch” feat Dark Lo.

Jamal: “Che the homie for real. The queen is to be protected at all times! I been a fan of hers for years. We worked before Jimmy jump. I know good artists when I see them, trust me. The production is a bonus for her. She already got the dope lyrics and natural style. Being wit Spesh who does it all too, it just wouldn’t make sense for her not to produce. Especially the fact that she can actually do it! Me and Lo prove on the album that she got a ear for production too.”

On “4:20 in L.A.,” Mr. 31 calls on the underground mysterio, Al Divino to conjure up one of his mystical beats. “Traffic” feat Planet Asia bangs hard with both emcees delivering smooth rhymes over chopped horn loops and thumping drums by producer Rain910. The Diadora Don dancing on Dirty Diggs loops has proven successful (see their 100 Blunts in Venice from April of 2020). “Blackout 2” continues that tradition with chopped piano and vocal loops. “3 Ms” featuring YMG shooter shows Jamal finding a different cadence while producer 7DaysAWeek lays a street banger with wailing vocal loops and modern drums.

It’s evident that taking the time to craft and curate a project to this extent creates a better, more focused and cohesive album. Jamal executes that well with The World is PIFF Vol 2, giving fans exactly what they expect; from the beats and rhymes, down to the artwork.