Late last night, I noticed a Tweet from Roughneck Jihad (@roughneckjihad) which read, "Check our this continent-spanning Hip-Hop collaboration with the beat and cuts by @AwkwardUK and the rhyme by yours truly, Roughy Rough." It included a mysterious YouTube link labelled "MC Roughneck Jihad and DJ Awkward "Dromedary."' Bay Area emcee Roughneck Jihad and Bristol, UK-based producer Awkward have, in fact, collaborated before, but, seemingly, not to this degree. Awkward mastered Jihad's 2018 Red Herring Mixtape and years prior, produced "Amen" & "Barbarian" from Third Sight's 2016 album, IV. Within a 2018 All-around Breakdown for his Red Herring Mixtape, Roughneck Jihad told The Witzard, "in addition, [ Awkward] is remixing a narrative/comic book album, The Red Sentence, for me." Supposedly, according to Awkward, "DROMEDARY" is "just a taster and there will be more to come. Perhaps, some singles [and] maybe, a full-length..." When I posed the question, "Damn, so we're really gonna get a continent-spanning full-length album from MC @ROUGHNECKJIHAD + DJ @AWKWARDUK?!!!??!" Roughneck Jihad Replied, "Yes, one single at a time." "DROMEDARY" is just what I've come to expect from Roughneck Jihad: eerily poignant bars backed with quick-strike comic relief juxtaposed against a glitchy beat provided by Awkward that sounds like it's self-destructing and falling apart not-by-note.


So, it sounds like, in time, or, maybe, even single-by-single, we'll get a continent-spanning full-length collaborative project from Roughneck Jihad & Awkward. Awkward has previously worked with Open Mike Eagle, Quakers' 7STU7, Stepasaur/Stepchild AKA Gary "Gee" Ealey of Malakai fame, N8NOFACE, Isaiah Toothtaker, and countless other sharp-tongued emcees. Awkward, additionally, released two volumes-worth of Beastie Boys remixes as POSSE IN EFFECT on his own Ghost Locust Music and contributed a blurb about "Hello Brooklyn" ("B-Boy Bouillabaisse") for our extensive Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique 30th Anniversary All-around Breakdown, Part II (PB30 "Side B.") To any effect, "DROMEDARY" is a hard-as-nails slice of nostalgic Boom-Bap/Hip-Hop that's definitely worth checking out for long-time fans, as well as new-comers. MC Roughneck Jihad & DJ Awkward's "DROMEDARY" is now streaming exclusively on Awkward's roastlonely YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more from these extremely prolific cross-continental collaborators! It's, also, worth noting Roughneck Jihad & The Diabolical Doctor Strange are currently holding a remix contest for their 2019 collaborative effort, THE ADVENTURES OF DR. VOODUN. Remix producers are urged to reach out directly to @jihadtheroughneckmc on Instagram for further details.