Dillon & Paten Locke - Rations (LP, CD)

It's the return of the toughest twosome...

Underground Hip hop veterans, Dillon & Paten Locke finish what they started with Rations, the long awaited follow-up to their cult-classic, Food Chain and 4th project in their food-centric catalog; released through their own label, FULL PLATE. Begun in 2016 but halted due to Paten Locke's sudden passing from cancer in 2019, Dillon carries the torch for the pair of triple-threats, deftly holding down rapping & scratching duties over Paten's brutally chopped & soulfully assembled beats. 

This go-round, instead of leaning into their more comedic instincts, Dillon & Paten Locke are dead serious. A militaristic sense of duty is pervasive throughout the LP, a nod to Paten's given moniker, The General. You can feel the earnestness in Dillon's raps as he both celebrates the victories in the trenches and laments the loss of his comrade, Paten. With a consistent tone throughout the songs, we gain a deeper sense of grown man raps in dire times. The project itself embodies the very definition of Rations: a fixed amount of a commodity during a shortage as in wartime. 

The aptly named Rations is indeed the final offering from Dillon & Paten, so you'll have to make it last. But the duo isn't on the front lines alone, they brought reinforcements including longtime collaborators & Hip Hop luminaries: Large Professor, Diamond D, Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Black Sheep Dres, Cool Calm Pete, Akroabtik & J Scienide plus their 'FULL PLATE FAM' - Willie Evans Jr., Day Tripper, Yamin Semali and Jay Myztroh of Stono Echo. Adding extra flavor are DJ Harrison on Fender Rhodes + Jay Mumford (fka J-Zone) on drums. Paten himself makes a few appearances in the form of rare interviews and a long lost acapella. Coming from the beyond, the words of The General (Paten Locke) hold weight - as he and Dillon offer one last serving of Rations for your plate.