(TheBRHM.com) When a newer artist catches my attention—such as Mario Judah—I’ll delve into their earlier works and work my way up to their recent stuff. I like to see the progression of their sound within a relatively short period. It’s a good way to see how they got to the period where you heard them and where they went next or if they’re solidifying their signature sound for that period.
It’s different for artists who have been around for years and I pick them up later into their career when they’re an established artist. For instance, I discovered Judas Priest shortly after Angel of Retribution dropped in 2005. Venom was discovered right before Metal Black in 2006. In the case of Venom, I was going through a bunch of the 1980s New Wave of British Heavy Metal and stumbled upon Black Metal, their highly acclaimed album.
Then we have Flint, Michigan artist Mario Judah. While he’s been involved in music prior to 2020, that year was an quite the debut for the young artist as he released several unique, strong singles showcasing a style of hip-hop and rap-rock that took me back to the early 2000s. Obviously, “Die Very Rough” was the viral single that really grabbed my attention.
The thing is, I discovered that song year’s after it went viral and it still impressed me. It held up and that’s a feat because nowadays there’s a push to keep making music—remaining relevant in an industry loaded with talent with more talent being discovered or releasing each month. Tunes that were hot last year could end up buried by other artists’ stuff or even new material from the artist that made said buried banger.
I wrote on 2024’s Endure and went to see if Mario Judah had anything else afterward. While I really dug Endure and the length of the project reminded me of 80s rock album releases, it was significantly brief by hip-hop or rock standards today—or of the decade in general. Seriously, folks release 18 and 20+ track releases and you might conclude “Eh, it could’ve been done in 15 tracks, really.”
“What Happened to Mario Judah?”
So the thought is “There’s gotta be more stuff. An EP, some features, etc” since Endure dropped early in the year. Looking on Apple Music I found that his debut full-length remained the most recent thing. That’s not unusual for artists who have been at this for a five, ten or more years.
For younger artists, that’s somewhat unusual because of they’re still at that stage of establishing themselves and keeping relevant. It’s letting listeners and fans know “I’m still here, I’m not a flash in the pan, and I got stuff bubbling—but I’m working with my contemporaries and peers.”
What I did find in my search were questions of “What happened to Mario Judah?” It’s a question with mixed meanings. On the one hand, listeners remember the artist dropped some heat in the past but they haven’t seen anything out of them recently. Then again, there’s also the sense of the artist falling off. I saw the same question around California artist Remble who had a banger with “Untouchable” in 2021 and RMR who had a banger with “DEALER” in 2020.
Both of them would continue making music after those releases each year and have released material this year with RMR dropping his second album “Tribune” in July 2024.
…and It Better Be Flames
And yes, metal is filled with such bands. In the late 2000s, I discovered California’s new thrash act Dismantle which ultimately had a six-and-a-half to seven-year run of dropping material. Nothing out of them since 2013 but they reformed in 2016. I’m going to do a “Greatest Album Debuts” on them but I’m still interested in new material from them.
On that note, this is a benefit of Mario Judah not releasing anything recently. He debuted in 2020 and released something at least this year. Sure, I’m hoping for more music from him but hip-hop has a more “Go! Go! Go!” pace for younger artists which isn’t exactly a thing for younger metal bands. You can hope for it to be flames but if it falls short, all that artist has to do is keep at it, get some collabs, sharpen their craft and they just might drop some flames again. Consistency makes it something of a numbers game, looking at it.
However, an older artist whether in hip-hop or metal dropping something after anything over five years? It should be flames. I mean rust aside, that’s enough time to put your best foot forward. Ten years after the last release? It better be flames. There’s no excuse for why the release shouldn’t slam.
Ultimately, art takes time to make but a certain level of quality can be expected considering the time. Still in his 20s, time is on the side of Mario Judah and just because he hasn’t dropped this summer—a prime time to drop music—that doesn’t mean he fell off entirely.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.