Album Review: Ric Wilson & Terrace Martin - They Call Me Disco EP

As we head into summer, the world still finds itself in free fall due to a global pandemic (of which I'm sure you've heard, no need to elaborate further). If you're one of the lucky ones, you're stuck indoors enmeshed in a terminal struggle with boredom (which, let me reiterate, is only if you're lucky). But just because you can't go to a party, doesn't mean that a party can't come to you. If you're needed of a new soundtrack for a bedroom dance-off with your cat/dog/child/bae/bathrobe, then pony up and drop the needle on the new EP from Chicago MC Ric Wilson and LA producer Terrance Martin, They Call Me Disco. This sequenced, star-light guided, sure-footed, dance-derby starter, punches like Dolomite, shocks your limbs like a Frankie Knuckles set, blows out your speakers (and your hair) like Parliament, and just might inspire you to live your life like it's a passion project.

It's not typical that an EP can feel as full and rich as a seven-course meal (especially with only 6 track), but somehow, They Call Me Disco feels more nourishing than the majority of full-length hip-hop releases I've heard this year. Let me break this down for you, starting with the laser-hued, spotlight-stealer "Breakin Rules" with its soulful grooves, silky synths, and persistent, perspiration-inducing beat. "Don't Kill the Wave" turns up the funk, takes you by the hand, and leads you in a platform healed stepping, soul-tango-tangle, liberating you to live according to your own groove. Later "Before You Let Go" ups the juicy, dirty, thirst-slacking funk in a sumptuous display of sex appeal. "Move Like This" drops some smooth R'nB adorations with fur-footed beats and golden-hued synths that glide past your ears like passing streetlights that peek through your car windows while you drive around the city late at night.

The album is a beautiful thing to behold, but if I had to pick one moment where it all comes together, that moment would be the sizzling, sun-baked, windy-city summer billet-doux "Chicago Bae" featuring, BJ the Chicago Kid. Anytime BJ is a feature, I get hyped, but when he croons over those beefy bass grooves and cool, carbonated beat, my mind wanders into a distant era of barbecues and porch parties, mental post-cards from summers past. The string of name drops and real city tour itineraries named on this track, detours away from the versions of the city we see in commercials, don't help alleviate the pining caused by our current state of social isolation, but dammit it if these mentions don't make me appreciate this city all the more. They Call Me Disco is the kind of release that makes me proud to call Chicago home, even if it doesn't make a living here in quarantine any easier. Pour one out for summers past, and in anticipation of summers yet to come, hopefully, when we will all be together again.

Grab a copy of They Call Me Disco via Bandcamp here.