No Skips: Dwalk ‘walks’ us through new album Welcome to the L6nd

No Skips art by Jacqulyn Seyferth

In our series No Skips, we sit down with an artist or band and go track-by-track through their latest release. For some of us, the banter in a concert where a song gets explained is our favorite thing in the world, and we’d just like to keep living in that. Every song has a story, and these are those stories in the order you’ll encounter them on the record.

Dwalk. // Courtesy photo

Dwalk galvanizes Kansas City’s hip-hop scene with the release of his highly anticipated album, Welcome to the L6nd. The project couples refined production from renowned producers with gritty, unfiltered lyrics. This compilation yielded a 10-track narration of the artist’s lifestyle, aspirations, and plight.

Following the release of his EP The Biggest 6 in February 2022,  his latest project did not come in close succession. Welcome to the L6nd seems condensed when compared to Walk’s previous work, totaling a mere 21 minutes compared to TB6’s glaring 46.

Though succinct, the album is a cohesive body of work that highlights the rapper’s development and experience. 

We sat down with Dwalk to delve into the lyrical intricacies of his latest project.

Here’s what the rapper had to say about each of the meticulously composed tracks.

The Pitch: Let’s discuss keeping your momentum from your popular single, “Freak Block Tales,” which was a national success. What was it like preparing for a project that was so highly anticipated?

Dwalk: I feel good. Like, I feel like it’s a good body of music. People be on me so much about dropping new music all the time. It’s just something where I feel like the build-up and the rollout… it’s all worth it. 

1. “Trackie” – This is the first single and track of the album. It’s a brief song at just over 90 seconds but sets the tone for the project. What did you want your audience to feel when they heard the first track?

I ain’t gonna lie. We got a few  [Jeep Grand Cherokee] Trackhawks and stuff around so we just played off of that. I started off the “Stesso snatch the Trackie off,” you know what I’m saying, so it was just kind of playing off the Trackhawk. That’s kind of what Trackie is short for. So I just wanted to ride it, slide it, and hit it with a few different flows. 

And I noticed it was so short, which is crazy because I was supposed to be extending it. But I feel like that’s what music came to. Most of the songs are under two minutes. It’s a style, though, if you don’t notice most of the stuff we listen to now, they try to keep it under two minutes and 30 seconds. It’s an Instagram Reel-type world. A lot of people are doing Reels and shit. Same with streaming. If the song is shorter, you probably will run the song right back and get more streams. 

2. “Oochee Walla” – This track has been fondly referred to as the sequel to your wildly popular “Freak Block Tales.” What do you perceive to be parallels between the two?

I can see why he’s saying that. It kind of carries the same BPM and cadence. It kind of slides right into “Freak Block Tales” when you’re mixing. I just feel like it’s a hard song. Then you got two of the hardest artists out of KC on it, along with a KC producer that made the beat. Mykell Vaughn made the beat. Once I got the beat, I already knew we were going to tear it up. 

3. “Landlord” – This is the third track and your second Kansas City artist feature in this project- what is the importance of camaraderie among rappers and collaborating with local artists?

I feel like it’s very significant for rappers to try to get each other exposure. As long as I got a voice, that’s always going to be my goal—to put KC artists on. You see it happening. Rappers from the city are always either going against each other or going for each other. Either way, it shows, and it builds the artist. 

4. “Minute Man” – This track is full of metaphors and similes. What did you mean when referring to yourself as the “minute man?” Is it a double entendre?

It’s definitely a play on words. I think I even say in the song, “I’m seeing rackies by the minute.” So at that point in time, when I was writing that I really was seeing racks come in by the minute. So I was speaking to the motion with my music and in the city. It was a play on words for what was going on in my life. 

5. “Candy Land” – Let’s delve into the trope of ‘the land.’ What exactly is the land? Is it an euphemism for your neighborhood?

It was short for Sonakiiland. I kind of shortened it to ‘the land.’ That’s just the area where me and my boys are from—where we chill and make music. 

I wanted to shine a light on where I’m from, in a positive way.

6. “Not Ok” –  Some of your references in this song include 50K in Diamonds, Rick Owens, Nike Foampoasites, etc. Is there a certain time period or type of aesthetic that influences your style?

Yeah. I’m all over the place, really. I’m at a point where I don’t even discriminate. If I like something and I think it’s hard, I’m going to rock it. Then I’m always online shopping, so I got a lot of stuff I probably haven’t even worn that I’ll just put together later on. I just love getting fresh and popping out. It’s a slim chance to none you’ll be successful as an artist if your image is not together. You want to look good. You want to look presentable. A lot of people tell me I look like an artist when I go places. And that’s just me being me. 

As a kid, I probably wasn’t dressing the freshest, but I always had the hard kicks and stuff. Like my mama always made sure she got me all the newest Jordans. I’m into foams, but there’s a difference between Rick Owen’s and [Nike] Foamposites. Of course, Air Jordans 3s and 12s are my favorite. They’re just so fresh. They look good with everything. I was going crazy with Dunks back then, SBs. I was into Pharrell and all the skateboard dudes, so I was hip. And then [Lil] Wayne came and was on the dunks. I wish I still had all my old Dunks. I was coming Ed Hardy crazy too. Bape, True Religion, Baby Milo, Red Monkey. I was coming crazy. 

7. “Hands Dirty” – Your flow on this track is reminiscent of a Detroit sound. Being from the Midwest, who are some of your biggest regional influences?

Really just anybody doing their thing. Of course Tech N9ne, he’s still a big influence on everything I do, especially with me getting my merch and stuff together. He made a killing off of merch. He probably made more off of merch than he did off of his album.

And then all of the dudes that came before me. I really used to listen to all of them unless they were just trash. In high school, I used to listen to 2Gun Kevi, RonRon, Dellio, and Devi. They kind of inspired me to start rapping when I got of age. 

We definitely have our own sound in KC. I feel like it’s developing, but I also feel like it’s blackballed out of the industry. Like they just don’t believe in our sound. That’s why I feel like we ain’t got a lot of artists that can pop from here. It’s obvious that we have some attention now. The more we respect it, the more we will be able to staple our sound in the industry. 

8. “No Fears” –  You mention taking risks in order to ascend to stardom. What obstacles have you been fearless towards that have propelled you in your career?

Everything. That’s why I go day-to-day thinking, “How fearless can I be?” If you don’t take risks, you won’t succeed. I feel like life every day is about taking risks. Just trying to get to the next level. So that’s kind of my mentality—”fearless.” I got it tatted on my chest. 

My first time ever performing, it wasn’t even a lot of people, and I was so nervous. I was just scared of all the wrong stuff. The more and more I got comfortable doing it, the more I lost that fear.

I don’t really have fear when I drop an album. I always have that confidence. I know that I will feel like some songs are better than others. But that’s what comes with being an artist. Just keep working and perfecting your craft. 

“No Fears” is actually my favorite song on the album.

9. “Can’t Block My Vision” – Beneath the familiar cadence and traditional hip-hop beat, this track is actually a Gospel song. I love that it wasn’t done in an overt way. How important was it to include a gospel song on this album? 

For real, I was excited to work with EmanuelDaProphet as an artist. He’s hard to me. He’s from Michigan. When I first heard his music, I had to run it back. I just felt like I was testing my artistry for real. I was eager to do it. I was really looking forward to it. I was like, “I’m really about to do this song with no cursing, no negative energy, no nothing.” And it’s crazy because a lot of people are saying that’s their favorite song. But I didn’t want to do a sample. I feel like I challenged myself more by coming on the track in that way too. 

10. “Ms Shanda” – The title of this track pays homage to your mom. What influence has your mother had on your musical career and this album? 

I feel like my mama has the biggest musical influence on me. Growing up, she was always hip to all the latest music and stuff. She would always buy us CDs for Christmas and stuff. Every day she used to take me and my big sister to school, slapping the latest song. 

Catch Dwalk opening for Soulja Boy at The Truman this Sunday, August 20. Tickets are available here.