Underground hip-hop veterans Dillon and Batsauce have been making unorthodox rap music together for nearly 20 years with a simple formula: Batsauce makes the beats, Dillon writes the songs, and what happens, happens. After forging their own lane with a catalog of EPs and LPs over the past two decades, the duo has finally slowed down enough to ask, “what have we done”?
Is the title of their latest effort rhetorical, or is it meant to be an actual question? If so, Dillon and Batsauce probably don't want to know the answer. They probably don't want you, the listener, to think too much about it. Instead, What have we done it's an invitation to experience the trials and tribulations, the small wins and big losses of being an aging independent artist in an increasingly redundant world for music creators.
But Dillon & Batsauce aren't the only ones in this game, we also hear from a well-curated cast of characters they've befriended along the way, from legends like Grand Puba and Kool Keith to modern rap heroes Quelle Chris . & Reef the Lost Cause. The end result is a collection of songs that run the gamut from personal to ambitious to … delusional. Whether it's “too much” or “not enough,” the answer to the question, “what have we done?” remains open to interpretation. Maybe it's not a question at all, but just the naturally visceral reaction when career makers look back on a life lived on the edge.
What have we done is will be released on July 12 via Full Plate. In addition to DSPs, the album will be available on vinyl, CD and cassette, with various merchandise available including t-shirts and collectible key chains. Meanwhile, head over to you preferred streaming platform to support Grand Puba-assisted single “Cannonball,” a funk-infused banger where Dillon and the legendary emcee trade verses and clever puns about relationships, wack rappers, and everything in between over his infectious production Batsauce.
