Radical Dreamers (Digital) Album Review By Britt 💿🎶 @AmerigoGazaway #VGM #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Radical Dreamers is billed as an album that blends “melodic hip-hop beats, razor-sharp lyricism and the allure of old-school RPGs Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger”. I mean, all of that sounds good, so let’s give it a go.

The album comes from producer DJ DN3 and the excellently named rapper Amerigo Gazaway. The retro references start right on the album cover, which is designed to look like a PS1 release, with artwork that could be taken from the games themselves. 

The album kicks off with an intro over rolling waves, moving into an album of tight drums and funky basslines driving Gazaway’s laid-back rhymes. The ChronoTrigger and Cross references are to be found throughout. Another World and Time Travelin’ retell the stories of the original game and its sequel respectively, while the bouncy, vocoder-laden Wings of Time borrows a song title from the Trigger soundtrack, and is probably the album highlight, with DN3 providing some nice scratches to close it out. 

Elsewhere on the album, Starts With Us features a strictly-for-the-heads Dilated Peoples sample and a strong message about trust and respect. Bubblin’ brings an old-skool feel and features a nice verse from the jaunty SkyBlew, while the album closes with Gazaway giving a shout-out to the fans on Keep Bouncing while DN3 juggles the main sample.

SUMMARY 

Overall, Radical Dreamers is a fun album that features multiple nods to gaming and wider hip-hop culture without laying it on too thick. 

If you’re not into hip-hop then this probably won’t convert you, but it’s a worthwhile listen. 

It’s available on streaming services and Bandcamp, where as well as the digital release you can pre-order CDs, vinyl and merch bundles.