ChiefDVB Stokes The Fire On “Arctic Emberz” Mixtape
The Vegas Emcee Puts His Art On Cassettes For His Latest Release
The bass from ChiefDVB's latest outing, Arctic Emberz, is more apt to boom from a pyramid buried under Arctic Ice than a cassette. Cassette tapes conjure nostalgia for many. Hip Hop fans vividly remember Raekwon's purple tape. Arctic Emberz is an ocean blue tape, and the confidence needed to record and manufacture cassettes in 2022 should not go unnoticed. The limited press run exploded on social media the night of it's release. After unearthing my own mini boombox and pushing play, Arctic Emberz shook me with indelible grooves and clever wordplay, which at times border the spiritual, and other times are just plain fun.
In the title track, ChiefDVB's lyrics are a serious matter of craft and composition, an architect ready to build something substantial in the midst of superficial digs. The emcee proclaims: "They in a pub tryin' to start a lecture, though these bars pure architecture." Architecture and formulation builds not only physical worlds, but also scaffolding of the mind. ChiefDVB bears the burden of promising listeners Vegas nights, cars on the…
