Backland - Back In Business (Charm City Records)

If you don't know who Backland is, what you really need to do is go to YouTube and watch a few of his Freestyle Friday battles from 106 & Park back in '02 where he just slays the competition. There's also a bunch of those battle verses on one track on his last mixtape, The One, which is a damn good mixtape. He got hit by a car in '04, but after a long recuperation he's rapping again, so big up to Backland. His new one, which I reviewed in the City Paper this week, isn't quite as good as The One, but it's still worth checking out. He even flashes back to a track from Charm City Records 3000: It's Over from way back in 1999, which shows you just how long Backland's been doin' his thing. On one track, he rhymes over a beat from Jin's album, which I think is kinda funny.

Backland - "Real Talk" (mp3)
This is a short track but one of my favorites, just a real mellow beat and Backland goes off about all the shit he's been through the past couple years.

Backland f/ B.O.M.B. and Q - "What It Sound Like" (mp3)
This is a good track that has the dude Q on it as well as Charm City Records artist B.O.M.B., who actually met up with me earlier this week to get me a copy of his new solo mixtape, so I should be writing about that at some point, shout out to B.O.M.B.

Labels: B.O.M.B., Backland, Baltimore City Paper, mixtape/album review, mp3