Big B :: American Underdog

He’s 300 plus pounds, well over six feet, and adorned with upper body tattoos – which he’s not shy about displaying on stage. Bryan Mahoney is best known as Big B. You may recognize his physical presence from A&E network’s reality series Inked, or his gruff vocal accoutrement on many of the hybrid rock, rap, reggae anthems carried out by OPM (he is considered the ‘unofficial sixth member of the group). Big B rarely calls himself a singer or a rapper, but he does unite those realms in most of his musical adventures. In fact, he relishes in being a big, bold entertainer from the white-trash side of the tracks. On his fifth full length album – American Underdog – Big B takes pot shots at himself, throws a few out to the ‘haters’, and always addresses the ills of everyday survival in a blue collar world. American Underdog is rarely overly pretentious, though he’s a flamboyant character in many respects. This album is, when taken as whole, far more modest and reflective of a guy who’s reached some success, but recognizes his music may not before everybody and being criticized is part of the game he chose to play. Stepping outside the lines of his previous solo releases, Big B opted for a more rock vibe than straight up white boy hip-hop on this record. For the fans however, there are certainly some solid instances of Big B the rapper (and nice uses of sampling and scratching in the production), such as the first single “Criminal”, but expect more sounds of twangy folk and blues, some rock and metal guitar licks and more instances of melodic choruses. A prime example of the latter comes through on “Sinner”, where Unwritten Law’s frontman Scott Russo lends his vocal talents. Other diversity shines in the punk flavored-live free-die hard anthem “Born 2 Ride” with Hed PE’s Jared Gomes. Nineteen tracks filled with lyrical discourse that covers everything from making poor choices to simply having a whoop ass time with friends. Other notable guests on the album include The Dirtball, Daddy X and Richter of the Kottonmouth Kings and OPM’s John E. Necro. Again, not everyone will find the value, but for those that dig the big man - he has merged the best of both his underground music worlds on American Underdog.

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