A collaborative EP between the former member of California underground rap collective Living Legends and the gangster-spitting Eastside talent will elicit a Stone Cold Steve Austin-sized “WHAT!?” from many, but seeds were planted years ago when the two first met in 2015. The occasion? Local Wiardon, then 12 years old, directly messaged Murs on Instagram in the hopes of meeting him on the day of an eventually canceled Stubb’s show. Though the 78702 native has largely spent the last several years proving he’s capable on the mic, Wiardon focuses this stop of the Los Angeles MC’s retirement tour entirely on production. The 20-year-old calms his love for Martin Scorsese and East Coast grime by providing his veteran collaborator with seven plush beats. His longtime fandom leaks out in conga-like percussion on “killswitch cowboy,” in the vein of 9th Wonder’s Curtis Mayfield sample on “H-U-S-T-L-E” from 2004. Murs works through some of his usual bingo card with distinct callouts to L.A., as well as U.S. injustices (in this case, the “perverse” health care system). After a near “three-decade championship reign like Rocky,” there’s still just enough fuel in the engine to warrant a studio finale. As for Wiardon, this 15-minute breeze reminds that he’s worth mentioning in any hypothetical debate of Austin’s best rap producer.
This article appears in April 28 • 2023.
