Our Rating

User Rating

(7 votes, average: 3.57 out of 5)

Loading...

Back in December of 2014, a mixtape emerged within the underground scene. It was called Post Mortem Boredom, and it featured a wide variety of artists from the Faygoluvers’ forum. All of these artists came together and by the power of unity within the community, the Post Mortem Boredom mixtape was born. Fast forward approximately a year later, and the second Faygoluvers’ forum mixtape has been released, called The Demonstration of Devastation, Vol. 1 (DOD1). Just like the first mixtape, this one is also free to download.

1. Intro
2. Get Da Ball Rollin’ (JiffyLong/Scruffy)
3. D.A.F (Drunk as Fuck) (Novocaine/Djscrubb/Sean Law/The 1st Lady)
4. Issues (Sketchez/JiffyLong/Pigg)
5. Curbstomp (Djscrubb)
6. The Bigger Picture (JiffyLong/Sean Law/EST BEATZ)
7. Dead Love (Sean Law/Novocaine/Sketchez)
8. U Know Nada (Sean Law/Pigg/Ill Nino)
9. $5 Curry (Novocaine/Pigg)
10. G.O.D. (Sean Law/Djscrubb)
11. Murder Mitten (Djscrubb/Sketchez/The 1st Lady)
12. Razorbaldes & Hatchets (Novocaine/JiffyLong)
13. Original (Sean Law/Sketchez/Keytonik Productions)
14. Y’all Wanna Party (DJ Chunk/Djscrubb)
15. Rise of the Pirate Gang (Pirate Gang/Novacaine)
16. Celebration (Djscrubb/Sean Law/The 1st Lady)
17. The World Is Ours (Sketchez/Sean Law/Dingleberry Beats)
18. Night Ride (JiffyLong/Demonic Swagger)
19. P.A.I.N (Novocaine/Djscrubb/Sean Law)
20. Gone in the Dust (JiffyLong/Demonic Swagger)
21. Facing My Demons (Novocaine)
22. FLH Allstar Cypher 2015
23. Outro (War Is Coming)

A bunch of new artists make their debut appearance on the mixtape, including Novacaine, Djscrubb, JiffyLong, DJ Chunk, and more. In addition, a few familiar faces has returned, including Scruffy, Sean Law, and Sketchez. Since both mixtapes have a slightly different concept, it would be unwise to compare the two; thus, DOD1 will have to stand on its own.

A quick background on the Faygoluvers’ forum community. If you were to visit the forums, then you will notice a lot of things right away, ranging from pointless member feuds, to rehashed topics about old questions, to discussions on new releases, and more. But one thing that stands out from everything else, on a positive note, is the creative talent within certain forum members. Coming together as one, all of these members pitched in to this mixtape project. First and foremost, it should be noted that DOD1 was not intended to be a polished and highly money invested project; however, it was indeed intended to showcase the various artists and at least give a small flavor of what everyone has to offer, a demonstration of sorts.

Due to the wide variety of artists on the mixtape, one should not expect a consistent theme and musical structure to the release. It is most certainly all over the place (especially in regards to the lyrical content, with a lack of direction), but that can be both a negative and positive thing. To start off the mixtape, DJ Chunk’s “Intro” is an awesome yet eerie beginning to the release. The scratching and catchy electronica lines is a great hype song, and lures the listener to hear more. It’s unfortunate that the second track immediately following it doesn’t quite match the hype. “Get Da Ball Rollin’” does not segue with the intro at all, and the simplistic beat made by Scruffy isn’t up to standards with the intro. Although JiffyLong does a decent job working with what was given, the song doesn’t really get the ball rolling in terms of starting up the mixtape.

“Celebration” is another simplistic track that could have been an outtake. The consistent clapping and faint background programming gets too repetitive, too fast. The brief keyboards and mumbled soul-fused vocals during the hook doesn’t save the song at all. Djscrubb, however, has a unique voice during his verses. It sounds deep rooted and sinister, yet has a consistent flow to it. His performance on “Curbstomp” is a great example of his abilities, doing both the verses and production again. Although the beat itself doesn’t change up drastically, it matches his flow perfectly, and doesn’t really need to be changed up.

In regards to drastically different songs, “Rise of the Pirate Gang” is as drastic as one can get. It seems Novacaine attempted to mix various subgenres into one song, and it sounds chaotically mashed. The guitar riffs overpower the faint keyboard lines, and the vocals don’t exactly match the music. It’s not just the mixing, but also the delivery. Either Pirate Gang can’t keep up with the fast paced music, or it sounds simply out of place. “D.A.F. (Drunk as Fuck)” is quite the opposite though. The alternating echoed keyboards and solid drum beat matches all the performers well. Djscrubb makes another superb appearance, Sean Law finds the right vibe for his verse, and Novacaine kills it all around. Basically, this song is a good example of the beat being broad enough to cater each verse perfectly.

“Issues” is an interesting song, mainly the matchup of the artists on the song. Sketchez suits the song well and matches his production skill easily. JiffyLong also delivers a solid verse, and his style actually goes hand in hand with Sketchez, whether inadvertently or not. Pigg is the sole black sheep in the song. His delivery is quite different than anyone else, sounding like as if he is desperately straining his voice to sound more horror-oriented in a creepy fashion.

Sketchez and Sean Law is a duo with good chemistry on a few tracks. “Original” is produced by Keytonic Productions, and it has a generic piano throughout the song and makes an attempt to be slow-yet-dramatic, but falls flat; however, their verses are a good effort, creating a good flow. “The World Is Ours” is the other song featuring the two. Dingleberry Beats takes care of this track, and the beat as a whole is a lot more interesting and complex than the other song, and thus it highlights their verses in a much brighter light. Although the verses in both songs aren’t focused and is kind of all over the place, their delivery overshadows that flaw anyway.

While the topic is at hand, Sean Law makes a solo appearance on the song “G.O.D.”, produced by Djscrubb. This song is the most lyrically driven track on the mixtape, and the hard-hitting beat meshes well with his verses. Overall, it’s quite the solid track. Novacaine’s “Outro (War Is Coming)” is the last track, with the music slowly intensifying and adding more effects as it draws to the conclusion of DOD1, and is a good yet brief finale.

“FLH Allstar Cypher 2015” is again made by Djscrubb, and features the majority of the artists from the mixtape. Just like a previous song mentioned, this beat is broad enough for the whole family, and everyone gives their best in this song without a doubt. It’s a great closing track all in all, and cyphers are always a fun listen no doubt.

In conclusion, DOD1 has its ups and downs. On the negative side of things, the vast majority of the songs don’t have any lyrical goals. It’s basically the respective artists spitting out lines that don’t really focus into any intriguing details, but there are rare exceptions. In addition, there are songs that sound extremely out of place, whether it’s because of the confusion between a rapper’s style and a producer’s vision, or just mastering and mixing problems. On the positive side of things, there are a few hidden gems in this mixtape. There is chemistry within certain artists, and it most definitely shows. This is also a great sampler plate of artists within the Faygoluvers’ forum community, showing what each person is capable of. All in all, there are very few communities online that are able to pull off a project such as this, and the dedication of the Faygoluvers’ forum members delivered an interesting mixtape, with enough catering to satisfy basically anyone.

Favorite Tracks:

1. FLH Allstar Cypher 2015
2. The World Is Ours
3. D.A.F. (Drunk as Fuck)
4. G.O.D.
5. Y'all Wanna Party

Length:

• 81 Minutes 23 Seconds

Record Label:

• n/a

Release Date:

• 12/12/2015

Purchase:

• Faygoluvers Download - FREE

Websites:

• Faygoluvers' Forum

Reviewer:

• Xanarki