Since August Hellfyre Club has been alluding to a label mixtape featuring its roster of art rap vanguaard. The announcement came with the release of Open Mike Eagle's “Qualifiers”, a track that humbly declares on the chorus “we the best, mostly / sometimes the freshest rhymers… respect my qualifiers” like an unofficial anthem of Nocando's boutique label.
The Dorner vs Tookie mixtape unites the roster, particularly Open Mike Eagle, Busdriver, and Milo who could form a supergroup based on the collaborations scattered throughout the mixtape. The three operate like a hydra holding court over the direction of the label, while contributions like KAIL's “We On” and Rheteric Ramirez's “Fuck A Nightstalker” are strong solo outings from the less prolific members. To some degree, there's a nostalgia that comes with Dorner vs. Tookie. It brings to mind the Soundbombing mixtapes, which functioned as introductions to a Rawkus sound mostly led by artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch, but their underground black experience rap would also be offset by R.A. the Rugged Man groaning of being poor as shit and fucking ugly bitches or Company Flow's experimental rap fuggery.
Download Dorner vs Tookie via the Hellfyre Bandcamp.
