Philadelphia based artist Dirty $uburban Hippie or nicknamed as just “Dirty” is a new age rapper whose music is inspired by the stories in the environment that he had grown up in. Dirty’s style can be described as being innovative, genuine, and fluid - kind of like a graceful swan. With inspirations from icons like Kid Cudi, ASAP Rocky, and Wiz Khalifa, Dirty culminates those styles to create a fresh new taste for the hip-hop world. Recently, Dirty released his brand new 10 track album ‘Best Out the Burbs’ and this one has the side effect of pulling you into a deep vibe.
‘Best Out the Burbs’ opens with the tune “Big Dope” and it is the perfect setup for what you’d be wanting from a Dirty song, it’s got those kinda jazzy chords, punchy drums that have a little bit of a bounce to them, and an expertly laid back rap performance that’s got a bit of sass to it but still feels genuine to Dirty’s morals. The following record “Waitin’ on Me” changes the mood and brings us to a more anthemic vibe that you’d want to pump out at max volume. The lo-fi synths happening in the background perfect compliment Dirty quick and almost spontaneous performance that is full of excitement and high energy. “Waitin’ on Me” shows off the heavier side of what Dirty is capable of, introducing massive sounding 808 kick drums with intense lyrics like “I’ll help you find you your purpose” show how honest Dirty is as a person.
Hitting us right in the gut after is the tune “Dirt” and we were instantly blown away in a brand new style we did not expect. Dirty shows us the crunchier side of what he can do, while still keeping uniform to the rest of the album. With dirtier drums (no pun intended) and a raspy rap performance with a little bit of a grunge flair, “Dirt” makes for an attitude heavy experience from start to end. “Plotting” turns up the heat with its intense drums that keep a static high-hat pulse that perfectly gives enough room for Dirty’s tight flow to breath, along with the help of some spicy adlibs, “Plotting” paves the way for the next tune “Check”. Keeping in line with the hard-hitting theme, “Check” hits you so hard you’ll feel like your speakers are exploding, we couldn’t help but get a sense of adrenaline from this one. The accurately timed lyrics “boot, as thick as the bat” with the heavy drums makes for an almost surreal experience where it will feel like an almost out of body experience.
“Straight 2 the blocc” brings the tempo down but the mood goes way up while listening to this one we were instinctively told to say “ay” whenever Dirty did it too, almost we knew it was going to come, it made for an engaging experience. The haunting pads in the background fused with ever so snappy drums gave the perfect edge to every single one of Dirty’s lyrics. Bringing down the tempo even more and surprising us with even more vibe, “Could Never Be Me” introduces an almost down south drum groove but with an emotional guitar that maintains a steady wave of energy that Dirty then uses as fuel for an ever so chill performance that made us feel like we were flying up in the clouds. Starting to turn the tempo back up is “Cocaine Diet”, we were blown away with the organic sounding vocal effects and swaying pulse that carries through. With lyrics like “I was running through the pressure”, we felt Dirty’s deep emotions about catching a break from everyday life.
The anthemic release of the album “Off White” brings in an ‘80s flair to the music, with massive sounding gated snare drums, sparkly glitchy vocal effects, and a dash of echoed vocals, Dirty transports us to a new world of his music that we did not know existed. To close off the album, “Uber Lyft and a Friend Away” turns the energy way up. Feeling almost like a modern pop record, this record is the perfect closer to this rollercoaster of an album, showing off Dirty’s singing and harmonizing skills and his ability to get a dance floor moving, “Uber Lyft and a Friend Away” wraps up an incredibly dynamic experience. Overall, the ‘Best Out the Burbs’ album was beautifully crafted, starting off slow then getting more intense before going back down and ending off with a banger, this is definitely an album that you won’t want to miss.
Be sure to listen to 'Best Out the Burbs' here.
Hey there Dirty $uburban Hippie! Welcome to BuzzMusic! Your ‘Best Out the Burbs’ is a wild rollercoaster from start to end, what was the initial concept and writing phase like for each song? There being a rollercoaster of energy, did you create the beat before you came up with your lyrics? First things, first just I wanna give a big shout out to BuzzMusic For This Opportunity and My Fans Who Got Me Here! I’d say that every song was completed individually at different points of my life over the course of the last year so the feeling of a different vibe in each track was definitely intended. As far as the lyrics, the process for me varies depending on my mood, where I am from when I start the song and to where I am from the finish it which may sometimes be the year before or the day of, time has no barrier on excellence The stories in each record have a bit of a consistent theme going on, were you inspired by anything personally to come up with each song? What is the overarching story that happens throughout the album? My inspirations for this album arose from my personal experiences in all the many facets of the ups and downs of my adult life as we all have, culminating from being the boy from the burbs who’s a little bit misunderstood all to becoming the man who wants to conquer the world and isn’t taking any prisoners. Even as a Philadelphia based artist, we were hearing a bit of Chicago and Southern vibes to some of the tunes, are you inspired by the music that comes out of any specific areas? What about your idols makes them stand out and an influence for you? I feel as being creative the biggest part of generating true inspiration is to experience life in new ways and incorporate them into your art appropriately. Over the course of my life I’ve allowed the music I do listen to be the soundtrack to my life ;) ... I guess you can say I’m a big Kid Cudi fan along with the likes of A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator & The Late Mac Miller with high admiration for there, style, versatility, and individualism as artists that stand out to me the most. Your style is incredibly versatile, from rapping with grunge to more melodic singing, how do you determine what style you want to roll with for a tune? Do you ever try to write lyrics that will fit a particular style? When it comes to how I’m going present a different vibe on a track, I always think of how I present a different personality based on my environment and mood at that time and that’s what I love to incorporate my music. You just never know what you’re gonna get from me .. figuratively and literally, my life is a roller coaster so creating a different and unique experience for every song will always be a high standard for me. With this album being out, what is next to come from you in 2020?
With this album being out I feel it’s opened a lot of ears that weren’t open before which causes for more pressure so be on the lookout for more music, visuals, merch, and anything else I can get my hands on ;) .. as always #staydirty(: