In early 2020 the world was rocked by something that nobody was prepared for: a lockdown that kept people indoors and away from each other for an extended period of time. The declaration of the end to the lockdown felt like an exhale for everyone in the world. Four years after when B1g Z and Sneaky Preacher released Vainglorious, the lead single of the project, it felt like an announcement to the hip hop scene. It was them telling everyone that “Outlandish Fashion” wasn’t a fluke, that they were here to stay and a force to be reckoned with. When asked, B1g Z said “we felt like Vainglorious was the best encapsulation of what to expect from the project.” For people who listened to it, that was a good omen for what was to come. The project begins with a satire of nature documentaries, the subject of this particular wildlife movie being “rappers”. From that point, the album begins at a brakeneck pace that rarely ever slows down. Z and Sneaky Preacher spit lines that are somehow both smooth and hard hitting over some of the most beautiful beats I have had the pleasure of hearing myself. The two features (frequent collaborators and members of NODUO nonazz and no god.) do much to accentuate the beauty of the project without taking much shine away from the stars of the show, and boy do those stars shine. The project feels like something that should be restricted to when you spend time in the great outdoors. My second listen was while i was on a walk and I felt like nobody could talk to me. Many rappers are tagged as making their listeners feel “fly” (Westside Gunn and Larry June, to name a few), I am a firm believer that The Outdoorsmen are in that realm of artists. I felt almost literally fly as i listened to Sneaky Preacher weave his words over the trumpet-laden beat of “Footwear” and B1g Z proclaim “you talk but you ain’t important” on the lead single. It’s an experience that I couldn’t wait to experience again the moment it was over. The chemistry between both members is amazing, It borders on telepathic at times, and both rappers rap at a high level, so there’s no skill gap to make the tracks one-sided. The 8-track length may feel dissatisfying for fans of longer projects, but something tells me the project was built to be replayed multiple times. Overall, The Great Outdoors is a triumphant body of work from two exciting artists who hail from a country that is slowly making its name in the hip hop world (outside of Drake, of course). Feel free to enjoy The Great Outdoors, I know I will be.

Follow The Great Outdoorsmen: open.spotify.com/album/4D2Qg6TbIUn4ay7QitDlDv?si=-CqK7iKAQ96pOuC2a-0CeA 

Written By IdkYoungJay: linktr.ee/idkyoungj