Short for (Most Dominant Ever), DJ DIESEL aka Shaquille O’Neal brings his powerful production skills and commanding vocals to his latest EP M.D.E. Featuring a collaboration on every track, DIESEL rallies friends and emerging artists alike to assist him on this monstrous summer slam! The cover art shows a young Shaq holding the Larry O’Brien trophy in his yellow number 34 Lakers jersey. Released on Monstercat Records, this 9-track EP is ready to ignite the mosh pit at first drop during this summer’s festival season!
Most Dominant Ever!
If you follow DIESEL on social media, you know that at the start of the year, he released a list of artists he’d love to collaborate with in 2025. Well, he hasn’t forgotten. It seems he’s checking off those names one by one because this new EP is packed with features that certainly hit different. The EP opens with the title track, “M.D.E.,” featuring RZRKT. Beginning with a spacey filled synth and melodic textures, this intro feels mystifying. Materializing out of thin air, an ancient tribal voice coons into the background as the synths take hold and the track begins to build.
Shaq’s commanding voice booms into the microphone as all hell breaks loose around the first minute and a half. This is when DJ DIESEL’s signature mosh pit-spreading riddim smacks you across the face. “M.D.E.” is a different move for DIESEL; it strikes a nice balance between delicate melodic textures and that powerful punch we know and love. A refreshing change of pace, in my opinion.
I’m an Animal!
Then comes “Animal” featuring SampilFire and IVORY. This track is so sick! It has a gritty hip-hop feel to it. The opening vocals definitely showcase DIESEL’s MCing skills and set that hip-hop vibe right from the start. The first drop is insane, featuring a cool, robotic, vibrating bassline. Even the drop has a hip-hop groove that takes hold of your body. My favorite part of the track, though, is the interlude, where DIESEL demonstrates his rap skills again. Big raspy bass lines carry you along, and he wilds the f**k out at the end of the track. The second drop is filthy! It’s futuristic, mechanical, all rolled into one.
Next up is the Virtual Riot collaboration, “Damage,” a gritty, low-end grinder with a splash of drum and bass. I believe it’s some sort of harp that opens the track; whatever it is, it’s sick! Right away, Shaq’s vocals creep in, and this first verse is pure gangster rap. DIESEL is really showcasing his hip-hop roots on this new EP, and let me tell you, we love it! The first drop is gnarly as f**k, it’s glitchy, drum and bass textures get weird and wonky in the best way possible. Shaq’s fierce rap vocals and Virtual Riot’s unique soundscape make this a standout track from the EP for sure.
In the middle portion of the EP, those previously released singles come into play. “Run It” featuring IVORY is a gritty, low-end drum and bass track filled with DIESELS’ dominant hip-hop style vocals. Then “Pay Respect” drops in with GorillaT and Fraxure. Maintaining the well-composed vocals theme, this track is definitely a bass-heavy song featuring GorillaT and Fraxure’s bass lines. One of the hardest-working individuals in the industry, both inside and outside of music, DIESELS’s well-deserved accolades deserve to be highlighted with this monstrous new EP.
The Storms Comin’
Teaming up with LAYZ, DIESEL delivers a well-thought-out thunderstorm of bass with “Bring The Pain.” This is one of the hardest-hitting traditional DIESEL songs on the entire EP thus far. Combined with LAYZ’s signature dance-filled textures, spacey blasts, and riddim backbeat, they most definitely bring the pain on this collab! Switching back to G-mode, I don’t think anyone was ready for this next track, “Fadeaway” featuring Benda…
Opening with an ominous backbeat that rises like the morning mist. This track isn’t an EDM song at all; it’s a straight-up, in-your-face hip-hop track. Huge bass lines ride out, the subs are cranked to full volume, a gleam in your eye sparks as you pull up on your enemies. Then BOOM! The nastiest first drop blasts through the speakers, “ HOLY S**T!” Hold on tight, ladies and gentlemen, DIESEL has time today for you, and you better run and hide!
Let’s Throw Some Bows!
Heading toward the final part of the EP is the summer’s new moshpit anthem, “Throwin’ Bows” featuring Perry Wayne. A pure thrill ride from start to finish, this is the DIESEL power we know and fear! This track is perfect for stages like Lost Lands, delivering a riddim-esque bass line; this one will have everyone bouncing off the rails and diving into the mosh pit in a matter of seconds. Coming to a grinding halt is the final track of the EP “Show Em” featuring NEOTEK.
DIESEL and friends certainly showed us how it’s done with this new EP, without a doubt. This final track is an elegant bow to this 9-track firestorm, that is M.D.E. Opening with a teasing style of bass drops, the track builds before unleashing a gritty, hip-hop-inspired bass line. Focused more on the beat than on vocals, this track wraps up the EP beautifully. Its gritty bass lines exude a hip-hop vibe, but with big, bass-filled textures. NEOTEK also brings his spacey feel into the track, gently easing the listener back down to reality after this hip-hop-filled journey through sound.
Overall, I love the vibe of this new EP by DJ DIESEL; it’s gritty, boisterous, gangster, commanding, and very well deserved. A real switch-up from the rail-grabbing, mosh-pit-spreading DIESEL we’ve come to know and expect. Set for festival stages, or the next Summer Jam, DIESEL delivers the heat with M.D.E.