NO MATTER HOW YOU SLICE IT (LITERALLY
OR FIGURATIVELY), HE LOOKS COOL.
Breakneck the Mage has two –count em, two–
new albums to lay on you. And they couldn’t
be more different from each other.

Breakneck the Mage has been a busy man. After spending much of his time mixin’ beats and laying down tracks at Green Street Studios, his personal studio located in Chippewa Falls, Breakneck is ready to bless his fans with two new full-length albums, which are set to drop in stores early February.

While the sounds are fresh and the lyrics are outstanding, the albums Overdubs & Overdoses and The Misadventures of Breakneck the Mage are completely different from one another. Misadventures, produced by Breakneck’s friend LC Slak, has an old-school sound to it, using sampled beats from jazz records, and is a little more personal, Breakneck said. Overdubs, on the other hand, is composed of songs you’d probably hear in the club, as it has more of a mainstream sound. “It’s more about just having fun,” Breakneck said.

The mainstream music that can be heard on Overdubs, which was produced by friends Passion Hi-Fi and Ryan Jobe, is one that Breakneck was reserved in making because of how he would be perceived by others. It is considered taboo for underground hip-hop artists to incorporate mainstream sounds into their music, Breakneck said, but he’s confident his fans will like it.

“I think once people listen to it, they’ll realize that it’s still me.” Breakneck said. “It’s still intelligent hip-hop.”

“I’m a helluva drug / and everyone wants to taste me,” is just one example of some of the sick lyrics you’ll hear on Breakneck’s new album.

While fans will still recognize the creative and unique sound of Breakneck the Mage, these two new albums are different from anything he’s done in the past, he said. Having laid out the concepts of the CDs beforehand and “owning” a lot of the beats, Breakneck says he worked really hard and these albums are a lot better than his previous work.

“When I first started I was trying to fit into a genre,” Breakneck said. “I’m just so much more comfortable now, I can be myself.” Being himself means more relatable lyrics with a laid back sound to go along with it. Breakneck said he’s heard people call it “lounge music.”

Breakneck’s so comfortable with himself that he’s done all his own writing, recording, mixing, and mastering for both Overdubs and Misadventures. He even did the art for the CD covers, he said. And while other hip-hop artists clutter their albums with featured artists, Minneapolis native Kristoff Krane is the only other performer on Breakneck’s albums.

“I wanted to keep these albums more on me,” Breakneck said. Purchase Overdubs & Overdoses or The Misadventures of Breakneck the Mage at BreaknecktheMage.com or The Local Store.