Four tracks through a mountainous climb that tests the mind, agility, and beat-producing coming from Sporting Life where nothing lasts but the conscious of a sprawling landscape. As Black Diamond recruits feature verses and works from other surrounding artists, Sporting Life combines the love for thrills with the relaxation upon the summits.

In a deep scramble, Black Diamond at its core is a performance that relies on endurance with this rapid lane-switching style of beats coming from Sporting Life. He opens with the self-titled track, “Black Diamond” which features Deem Spencer, A Queens, NY artist that flows perfectly over this shadowed instrumental. The whole track seems reminiscent as if a ghost that floats high above the mountain rests over the display. The various samples of random, jumbled spoken word boost Spencer as he combines the utter feeling of defeat while trying to move forward. “Cut your losses, cut your hands off,” Spencer describes as Sporting Life continues to use ethereal sound to paint a hard body instrumental.

As the following piece, “La Sportiva” moves into the frame, Sporting Life begins abseiling into this cavernous, almost aquatic house beat that shines through the fierce punching 808. It can best be the equivalent to a person that is climbing an overhang, where they must take the leap to progress farther up the solo expedition. Sporting Life can capture and exhibit the feeling of adrenaline coursing through the body with the way his music rises and falls, crashing to become an unavoidable humanistic side.

This is true as he moves into one of the singles, “Crux” that features two New York MC’s, MIKE and Wiki. The two artists are lyrically sound but for entirely different reasons. MIKE who is known for his often stoned, but introspective lyrical style that creates tears from the eyes. To Wiki who has been spitting rhymes since half of the audience was in high school, creating a vivid painting of what it takes to run an underground scene in New York. The two opposite sides of New York do not conflict but instead join together to capture this black and white photograph of rhyming potential. Provided that the instrumental from Sporting Life is more ambient noise than that of the previous track, but this style somehow nestles in a multi-pitch climb where everyone involved can only climb the length of the rope. These routes are long but can be broken up to the point where the multi-pitch holds three leaders on a single ascension.

With Black Diamond, Sporting Life holds this golden knot while climbing a 90-degree mountain-top. He has no fear in his eyes, but instead, determination as Sporting Life balances the weight of falling to his demise or scaling in the face of adversity.

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