Lil Derik & Skip The Kid - Mean Gene & The People’s Champ (EP)
Yesterday evening while browsing through Twitter, I came across this EP from Saint Louis native Lil Derik & producer Skip The Kid, where the cover art, the tracklist & the project’s title intrigued me immediately. The project was named “Mean Gene & The People’s Champ,” which had color-painted images of both Gene Okerlund & The Rock to commemorate their achievements in wrestling. It also symbolizes that because they were these colossal figures in their craft, we would be seeing the Mean Gene & The Rock version of the artist & producer combo here, which I got to say, they hit the mark right on the head with this one. As you already know, I’m a huge wrestling fan, so to see this, I was instantly hooked on hearing it. When I came across the tracklist, which was named after legendary wrestlers and one of my current favorite superstars, I immediately submerged into this tape that I can confidently say has been stuck in rotation for the last 18 hours.
Some artists have completed wrestling-inspired mixtapes, such as Westside Gunn with his 4th Rope series & Smoke Dza with his Ringside EP series that dropped on Wrestlemania. While these are great, this EP stands out in a way that could be displayed with the two mention series but also be revered as its own entity. Take the project’s self-titled intro; for example, the production by Skip begins, and you think you are at the entrance of heaven’s gate. It sounds so smooth and crisp with that beautifully sung sample that it then transitions over to Lil Derik applying immense pressure with the raps. It so devises the way he uses heavy wrestling references to explain his come-up while showcasing his ability to be witty in the process.
“Feeling like Kobe, he was chasing that six ring, speaking of the ring, you like John Cena, saying you did this and did that, but we ain’t never seen ya.”
That bar is tough, and don’t you worry; there’s plenty more like it the further you go into the project. The next track, titled after the recently deceased Razor Ramon aka The Bad Guy (RIP), is living up to his character. The production is full of machismo while Lil Derik throws his toothpick to the crowd and starts spitting that gold-chain talk with the same type of suave that Scott Hall would do; a fine homage indeed while being himself in the process. First off, the production by Skip on “The Hitman” is this gloomy eerie sound that gives you the goosebumps. At the same time, Lil Derik doesn’t let the beat breathe since he immediately hops on it while tugging the listeners into submission with aggressive rhymes. I’ve never been in it, but I can only imagine that’s how being put in the sharpshooter must feel like. Kicked back with the riches like he’s “Dibiase,” the million-dollar man flow is here and showing as Lil Derik picked up speed on this joint and came out the gates hungry. Still speaking on the lack of competition when it comes to rapping, he’s too ahead of you all; you think he came here by rocket ship. Hard work and grinding gets you fed or lacking that you don’t need to do anymore, Lil Derik wants to obtain more in life, and he’s completing it with music as his ticket out. He’ll frog splash any rappers from the top ropes like “Eddie Guerrero” (RIP) and if anybody is left, take three amigos suplex to finish off the rest. This record has more heart than the rest, and it’s all on the line here. I couldn’t think of a better way to tell you that Lil Derik did it for La Raza here. Last but not least, “Sasha Banks,” I would be lying if I didn’t say my curiosity had me check out this track first before starting from the beginning. I love this joint because it’s named after one of my female wrestlers but also because Lil Derik takes it a step further by championing all the ladies in his life and the ones that don’t get enough praise for the hard work they do. It’s conscience speaking, and it’s from the soul, truly a great send-off on a tremendous wave. The EP initially dropped back at the start of April this year, but I wanted to get the opportunity to share its sentiment; Lil Derik used one of his favorite topics to explain his life and his goals; I admire him because of that. He went past the grain to give us a series of eminent bars to show us the person he is in the best way. I applaud him and Skip The Kid for laying down the smackdown here and creating a solid foundation on this EP with an incredible introduction.
After listening to the EP, I researched and saw that Lil Derik has a lot of content suitable for a new fan like myself to hear more about his story. I did see Skip The Kid’s catalog, too, and noticed he had achieved many notable production credits that I can’t wait to dive into. I’m hoping to see more of their art on my radar in the future but until then, be sure to check out their EP here and share it on all social media avenues.