The moment you press play on “Heart & Soul,” the first track of None Chiller, Dom Russell (performing as Chill Mac) establishes himself as more than just a rapper. “This is deeper than rap, I got a story to tell,” he says. Mac paints pictures of his past, and expresses his innermost desires to inspire, “I’m just tryna touch souls like DMT, on another level get on my frequency.”
On top of that, the album is downright groovy from front to back. Chill Mac presents a lo-fi, introspective vibe here, using unique vocal distortions and creative downsampling.
Of course, anyone who listens to an artist for the first time naturally draws comparisons; so, after my first listening, here are some names that came to mind. First, is Curren$y who shares some of Chill Mac’s immediately apparent groovy/smoker vibes. Second, is Schoolboy Q because of a sharedraw and aggressive style of rap, mixed with introspective lyrics and gritty but simplistic storytelling.
My last comparison is for 2010’s rap fans, King Chip a.k.a. Chip Tha Ripper. When Mac isn’t tapped into his gritty and raw rap style, his whimsical, laid-back rap brings me back to 2011 listening to The Cleveland Show.
In a dozen tracks, Chill Mac touches several styles and integrates some excellent guitar riffs from Taylor King. Songs like “Cousin of Death” and “HOWiFEEL” display grittier influences — while songs like “I’m Chill” and “Contact High” hit on, what I would call, “smoker flows.”
On “Hollows” he uses storytelling to lyricize the violent struggle he and his peers have gone through with lines like, “Swallowed by the system, n***** got swallowed by the streets/ Everybody plays the victim, n***** got plenty enemies.” Juliano Dock also shines as a feature on this track, offering a compelling complement to Mac’s style.
While I do appreciate the chill flows and the whimsical rap performances on this album, there were times when the melodies felt a little loose from a performance perspective. Some rap fans don’t listen to rap music for any sort of sing-along melody, but — for those who do — I can say the tone and melody lost me in a few places.
I think Chill Mac makes it clear that he is highly intentional and cerebral with his bars. That being said, the content is usually deeper than the composition; there’s a lot of simple rhyme schemes with little lyrical complexity.
Overall this was a solid project for Chill Mac, his thoughtfulness is apparent here. Local music scenes are often filled with cringe-worthy rap and crusty bars — and while the album might not be flawless from top to bottom, it certainly wasn’t a blooper.
Aside from some grittier tones, the album is a lot of fun and loaded with good vibes. It’s very well-rounded display from Mr. Russell. In terms of rap albums from the Des Moines music scene, one can imagine “none chiller.”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s July 2023 issue.
