On September 6, 2019, Atlanta based duo Earthgang dropped their official Dreamville debut album Mirrorland. I have been waiting in anticipation for months and can trace back my discovery of Earthgang to a February 2017 video a on Kinda Neat.

I was instantly a fan and quickly dove into all of their previous work. I was ecstatic about the news of them signing to Dreamville and felt it was a perfect fit.

Since then, the duo has put out a fair amount of new music and appeared on many excellent features. Through 2017 and 2018 Earthgang released a trilogy of EP’s, prepping fans for their long-awaited debut album with a plethora of quality tracks. Most notably being “Robots” and “Meditate.”

As 2019 rolled around the hype around the duo maintained, and they solidified this with another quality effort on the critically acclaimed Revenge of the Dreamers 3 album by Dreamville. “Swivel” a track from Mirrorland was even featured on the project before its release.

Going into Mirrorland expectations were very high within the rap community. Looking at the album as a whole, Earthgang delivered.

The album feels very cohesive and authentic to the sound the duo has been crafting over the last four to five years. The two singles pushed for this album were “Up” and “Proud of U,” however neither felt like a true single in terms of marketing. No video was released for either track.

The album opens with “LaLa Challenge” a high tempo and energetic performance that showcases precisely what each emcee brings to the table.

Johnny Venus, one half of Earthgang, handles a lot of the production on the album. This hands-on approach to production is where the album really shines. You can tell the duo spent a lot of time crafting this project. Both Johnny Venus and Doctur Dot effortlessly flow overtop of the instrumentation and have clear control of the direction of each song.

The album has features from Young Thug, T-Pain, Kelani and more and does a fair job at utilizing these guest spots.

Overall the album is a solid introduction to Earthgang and is an excellent example of the lyrical ability and soulful style of the duo. Venus shines through with creative experimentation while Dot maintains a grounded radiance that balances the act well. While this is technically the third studio album from Earthgang, this one feels like a firsthand meeting.

Without a doubt, Earthgang has had better projects before this album, but none of which are a better representation of who the duo is at their core.

“Walkin’ proof of what can happen when you say what you mean/ Just ’cause niggas cop your jersey don’t mean they on your team,” raps Dot on “This Side.”

A testament to manifestation, Earthgang has created the reality in which they can excel into the future and do so alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop.

Top Tracks:
1.Up
2.This Side
3.LaLA Challange

Overall score: 7.0

Listen to the album here for yourself and let me know what you think.