Music Review: Dag Savage (@DagSav) – E & J

Dag Savage is the combination of Exile on the beats and Johaz on the rhymes. I named Exile first because it seems as if he has mastered the “one producer/one emcee” format. With a classic (Below the Heavens with Blu) and other exemplary albums (Blu’s GMFWICSST and Fashawn’s Boy Meets World) in his catalog, Exile has shown that he has what it takes to put out a great project. Now, we have to see if he can give Johaz what he needs to have a complete project.

Within a few listens of E&J, it can be said that Exile provides the proper backdrops for Johaz to flex over.

If one is paying attention, Johaz actually gives a lot of himself within the first few tracks. At the very beginning of the album, “The Beginning” allows him to express his thoughts on Trayvon Martin, religious beliefs, and his disbelief in the use of mollies as the drug of choice. The very next song, “For Oldtimes Sake”, gives him some room to touch on personal issues like being molested as a youngster, having relationship issues, and being arrested at 14 years old. Many artists don’t take the time to express WHO they are. With Johaz, however, he wanted to get that part out of the way.

That doesn’t mean that Johaz won’t flex his lyrical skills throughout the album. “Drugs” equates his lyrical prowess to crack rock, while the production is “that Coltrane”. In contrast, he shows how extra romantic he can be with “Wine and Cheese”. “Van Gogh” gets into his spiritual beliefs and idealistic views about life. It may not go over as swiftly as Exile’s previous rap partners, but Johaz has enough panache and skill to keep a listener’s attention.

Exile, being the producer that he is, actually flexes even more production muscle than usual. It is a good thing that he kept close to his roots with production like the extra soulful-yet-somber “Cali Dreamin”. Meanwhile, he gets extra funky-wormy with the heavy synths and cosmic slop of “Bad Trip”. Yet, Exile feels most at home when he uses the smooth soul samples and vocal wails that are highlighted on tracks like “Twilight” and “When It Rains”. Keeping things at home, yet diverse, allows Exile to provide the right backdrops for Johaz to rhyme over.

By the time “The Finish” comes to a close, we can see that Johaz and Exile put together a project that demonstrated their camaraderie over hip hop tracks. Johaz put a lot of himself, and his own personal beliefs, within all of the tracks offered. Exile kept things diverse enough so that the album doesn’t become totally mundane. It is hard to say whether or not people will laud this album years from now. Still, it can be easily said that E&J is an album that puts a lot of promise into fruition.