Given the amount of hype that’s been surrounding Dibiase since his beats brought him to the final of Red Bull’s Big Tune competition in L.A., Machines Hate Me appeared to be the perfect caveat to an exciting collection of fall releases. There are some standout songs on the album, like Atombreakin, Lumberjack, and Renegade Slap but this debut LP from one of Los Angeles’ rising beat makers is a disappointing dichotomy of urban decay and pixelated fantasy. It’s very easy to hear the Dilla influence in Dibiase‘s music, but just about every beat on the album returns to the same kick-snare-high combo that grows monotonous around the fourth track. I do appreciate the way he integrates samples and 8 bit melodies, but he does it so much better in all of his previous releases. This hopefully won’t his last venture on Alpha Pup Records, so you should pass on this album and hold out for his next release.

Dibiase – Lumberjack