Photo via Dukalion / Facebook
For some artists, there’s not much in an album title. However, for Milwaukee native and SAFS Crew member Dukalion, The Journey is more than a fitting name for his latest release, a project that has taken over ten years to create. The album is eight tracks of pure hip hop for the heads, who often crave material reminiscent of the so-called “golden era” of the genre. The beats hit hard, and more importantly, Dukalion’s flow take precedence, with his veteran experience on the microphone shining through in every bar-filled verse. In many ways, it’s just the start of his self-fulfillment.
“Initially it was going to be a mixtape. Just a compilation of songs” Dukalion explained. “When I moved to Los Angeles, I had trouble getting some of the tracks, so I just started creating a bunch of new content.”
Now residing in Central Valley, California, there’s much more to The Journey than what you hear. The concept for the project has been festering for the emcee since relocating. A crashed hard drive after an initial version of the project was completed only complicated matters, and in an effort to get some momentum moving in his favor once again, a shorter EP entitled The Journey of the Lost Ark was released in 2014. While containing glimpses of what the trilogy is supposed to entail, there was much more originally planned.
“It wasn’t the full vision” said Dukalion. “I had been cultivating it, and then decided to break it down into three parts. Now The Journey is just the first part of this process.”
Fortunately, the other two installments of the trilogy are mostly finished, with plans to be released within the year. If you’re craving lyrical, tough hip hop that truly pays homage to the genre, The Journey should be a can’t-miss release.
|
|
