This one landed in my inbox as a Music Submission, and I like it a lot. Caper, an independent MC from the Bronx, released his album The Forgotten Side on November 7, 2026 through Darkstarz Records. Billy Danze of M.O.P. is on the guest list, and the producers include KRS-One and Statik Selektah.
Who Is Caper
Caper has been around since the early 90s. According to his Bandcamp bio, he started out as a DJ under the name DJ Hurricane and began writing his own songs on his mixtapes. He makes beats too, under the alias Gee Dark.
His label Darkstarz Records is based in the Bronx and was officially formed in 2001. Caper's catalog runs deep, and a lot of the titles lean on kung fu imagery, from Tiger Claw to The Buddha Palm Technique.
The Forgotten Side
The album centers on people who get overlooked and keep going anyway. The seven tracks run about 18 minutes. OvALoAD mixed and mastered the record and also shows up as a guest on two songs.
Caper points to two tracks as the way in: "Golden Wings", produced by DJ Babu of the Beat Junkies and Dilated Peoples, and "Lost Antidotes".
My Picks
Lost Antidotes is my favorite on the album. Billy Danze, Evaize and OvALoAD join Caper over a Statik Selektah beat. Billy and Statik go back a while: Statik produced two songs on M.O.P.'s 2009 album Foundation.
Dilly Dally runs on a KRS-One beat. The Blastmaster co-founded Boogie Down Productions in the South Bronx, so this one keeps the album close to home. Graveyard Shifter and Portarok, two regulars in Caper's catalog, join him here. The three already shared "Jakes & Snakes" and "Drifterz", and OvALoAD jumps on this one as well.
Rhyme Reaperz has the hardest beat on the album for me. It comes from Caper himself, credited as Gee Dark, with The Bad Seed and ADLife on the mic.
Buck Wild State wears its producer in the title. Buckwild is a Bronx native and a member of D.I.T.C., the man behind O.C.'s "Time's Up" and Big L's "Put It On". So Bronx meets Bronx on this one, with Curt Digga as the guest.
Tracklist and Credits
- What's on the Other Side? (prod. Gee Dark)
- Golden Wings (prod. DJ Babu)
- Lost Antidotes feat. Billy Danze, Evaize & OvALoAD (prod. Statik Selektah)
- Dilly Dally feat. Graveyard Shifter, Portarok & OvALoAD (prod. KRS-One)
- Rhyme Reaperz feat. The Bad Seed & ADLife (prod. Gee Dark)
- Buck Wild State feat. Curt Digga (prod. Buckwild)
- Walking Through the Smoke (prod. ViCi)
Mixed and mastered by OvALoAD. The Forgotten Side is available on Bandcamp as a digital album and on CD. More from the label at darkstarzrecords.net.
Send Me Your Music
Submissions are a regular thing on widontplay now. If you rap or produce hip-hop, send me your music. I listen to everything that comes in. Some submissions end up on the blog, all of them get heard.
Send me a focus track with a streaming link, plus a few lines about who you are and where you're from. Mail it to pacoinaction@widontplay.com or hit me up on Instagram at @widontplay_.
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