***WESLEY JOHNSON—aka WESDARULER—knows the highs of artistic and personal fulfillment and the deep lows of struggle and burden. Ocean Drive is more than likely the first exposure the world at large will have to Johnson and, coincidentally, it’s no small matter that it’s on Ocean Drive that we find him most exposed. The Athens, Ga., beatsmith has spent years making his distinctly idiosyncratic music which has included time spent making headphone heavy boom bap to collectively conscious psychedelia. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that his voice was ever heard on his recordings and it surprised so many longtime listeners that he was asked more than once who the MC was. Once he unleashed his lyrics, though, there really was no turning back. Although deftly skilled in the lab and a solid producer for multiple collaborations, WesdaRuler is a man, paradoxically, transitioning while arriving. Ocean Drive is a journey across the full breadth of Johnson’s inner dialogue. His role as son, husband, and father are all explored in loving detail and confessional honesty. His alternating desires to bring the party or hibernate are on full display.
LP $17.75
09/13/2019