DUSTY PAGES – LIFT OFF #CyfeLyfeReview

There’s a voice calling out in the South West wilderness, and you can hear it echoing from the deserts of New Mexico to the sandy beaches of South Florida, “DUSTY…PAGES…DUSTY…PAGES….PAGES…pages….pages”.  So begins the debut album by Albuquerque New Mexico’s DUSTY PAGES, the highly respected Duo made up of MANTEQUILLA & 42. On their new LP, LIFT OFF, they plan on launching listeners off of the map, no matter what their surrounding topography is.

New Mexico’s “Han and Chewie” have been making waves in the bubbling Albuquerque Hip Hop community for the past couple of years.  Like most of the acts I have met personally out west, they were introduced to me by our brother EKYM1536 who always has his pulse on the hottest Indie Acts on his side of the map.  After spending the past 2 years earning their respect with their live Performance, opening for some of Underground & Golden Era Hip Hops Greatest, including SADAT X & EL THE SENSAI, HOMEBOY SANDMAN, ONYX and most recenlty The Teacher KRS ONE,  MANTEQUELLA & 42 are now giving their growing fanbase a full helping of what they cook up on the Sampler and in the sound booth.

MANTEQUILLA aka BUTTER BROTHER PRODUCTIONS has been producing Boom Bap for a number of years.  He shares with WVCC Radio that he connected with 42 while working at the same company where a water cooler conversation revealed to them that they were both lovers of not only Hip Hop, but “REAL HIP HOP”, the coveted sub genre of devoted Hip Hop Heads who stand against the watering down of the HH Cultures and the music that it spawned.

MANTEQUILLA explains,

“We used to work together, not directly, but one day we started talking about music, (hip hop specifically) and I think we both didn’t expect the other to like “Real” Hip hop, based on our appearances! I let him know I made beats and (used to rhyme) he let me know he rhymed, and used to make music. We started talking, and connected a lot for years for fun. My original intention was to make beats,and let him rhyme. I am happy that 42 talked me into rhyming again.”

42 adds,

“I had been on and off creating music as i went through my life cycles and i think we both knew we were looking to take it to the next stage. Butta and I planned a meeting and it grew from there. We went through lots of other names for the group. Not really liking each others suggestions. There were names that were leading us to Dusty Pages with the years we’ve been creating and writing, and Butta threw the name out and it stuck!”

MANTEQUILLA – “We are both “Older” than a lot of what the average hip hop fan is. So part of it “for me” meant We’ve been around for a while, even though not a lot of people knew us, it is also referencing our stage in life, we again, are both older. In discussion, it was kind of like “we gotta dust off these pages, and get out there”, and I think it hit for both of us. We finally agreed.”

The chemistry and comradare the two have naturally built is evident on the album opener, and 1st Single, “FUEGO”, where BUTTA & 42 go back and forth with some stellar slick talk over one of my favorite beats off the project. The baseline on this one is an instant face scruncher, and the duo add the stinging punchlines to complete push your face inwards (and this is just the 1st track of the album).  They set the bar high from the onset of the project and keep surpassing it, track after track.  On track 3, the two delilver a funkdified joint thats “sweeter than the sugar that comes from DULCE”, only to slap you in the face with the hard hiiting WHAT COULD I DO, the only song on the album not produced by MANTEQUILLA.

The Beatsmith known also BUTTA explains….

“I made the beats, and produced all tracks except “What could I do” that was produced by a dope Rapper/Producer Benny Browncoat.”

To which 42 replied…

“Yeah, shout out to Benny, who slid us in on our first appearance at one of his shows!”

I had the pleasure of watching BENNY BROWNCOAT killing his set at last months ROCK THE BLOCK party for the FINAL BOSS TOUR/ DILATED PEOPLES show, and he is definitely an artist and producer that you want to add to your favorites on your preferred streaming platform.  Here is a link where you can find Bennys music for yourself. 

The DUSTY PAGES Duo arent only about the Pen and Drum Pads though.  These brothers are intent on turning their audience on to better alternatives than whats being pushed on them by Mainstream society.  Whether it be their Underground Sound, Their above par lyrics, or a message of more disciplined living and making better decisions, Mantequilla and 42 are serious about shedding a light on overlooked, wiser options.  No where is this more evident than on the intro of SPARK LIGHT.  These brothers represent their cultures, faith and experience filled age with pride. They are unashamed to to wave the flag of a “Less Popular” genre of Hip Hop, or to claim their Rural up bringing in the deserts of New Mexico, or to represent their ancestors like BROTHER BUTTA does excellently on UNRELENTING FUNGUS, incorporating the Chicano Lingo he was raised around into his burner of a verse.

NEW MEXICO Emcee MATT SWIFT aka SWIFTY FOR REAL is the only Guest Appearance on the album and he sets off the collab cut. SWIFTY PAGES, brilliantly over a warped flute sample that stays stuck in your head before the MF DOOM makes the track “Butter Moist”.  As they explain on the ruckus TEAR AT THE SEAMS, these 2 South West Polar Bears shred up every track on LIFT OFF and offer up a battered bloody banger of an album that you cant keep from bobbing your head to.

When I asked them about the album title and title track, LIFT OFF, the DUSTY DUO explained,

42- “The album was a long time coming. We were connecting and building and creating for years. Butta would introduce some new beats he made and we would build. There were some tracks that I already had verses that i wanted to drop and we would work around that. Butta really got into his producing and we would start getting into making more focused tracks. Lift off was us finally making an album, it speaks of the momentum we gained from so many years of our passion and devotion to hip hop. Most of these tracks are many years old, so it feels nice to have this wrapped up and finished.”

MANTEQUILLA -“What LIFT OFF meant to me was, we gotta get up, get off the couch, get out, and get this project to LIFT OFF. We have had a few tracks that people were familiar with, but hadn’t released the full album. I sometimes find myself getting in my own way, so it was like we have to make this go ourselves, no more waiting. Time to LIFT OFF”

Thats exactly what they did on this debut LP.  Left Earth. You can tell they have sharppened their craft through active practice of their art, not only in their rooms, but on actual stages, in front of actual Hip Hop loving crowds who would boo you or walk away if you were wack.  I have seen DUSTY PAGES perform before, and can tell you, there is no turning away from their live show.  Just like this project is difficult not to bump all the way to the end and replay.  If dropping an Official Sounding Hip Hop project was their goal, they knocked it out the part on their 1st try, and we cannot wait to hear what else they are cooking.  If you see DUSTY PAGES on a flyer for a Big Name artist, do yourself a favor and make sure you are there early enough to watch them open.  They promise to LIFT you out of the average hip hop hole most music lovers are stuck in.

You can follow DUSTY PAGES at – https://www.instagram.com/dustypages_hip_hop/

MANTEQUILLA – https://www.instagram.com/butta_brother/

42 – https://www.instagram.com/redmako42/

Dusty Pages – Lift Off LP – https://open.spotify.com/album/6WUX2IZ1IYfb0v3jXOFsj5?si=BKCe0ICZSlaQcg_-5giRLA

Founder of Vice City Cypher, WVCC Radio, PROFRESH Publicty. With over 20 Years in South Florida’s Hip Hop Scene 8ch2Owens has carved his name into the Miami Hip Hop history books, and now uses his talents to promote the best in South Florida Indie Hip Hop and Underground Hip Hop from around the globe.