Loui$ Menace and DJ Mirage Drop DARIUS

Two Producers, One Vision

French producer DJ Mirage wasted no time after his debut. Just eight months after releasing Background Check, his first full-length beatmaker album, Mirage is back with a brand new project, this time joining forces with producer Loui$ Menace. Background Check featured an expansive guest list that included KRS-One, Action Bronson, Masta Ace, Lil Fame of M.O.P., and B-Real of Cypress Hill, establishing Mirage as a producer with both range and reach. The new collaboration, DARIUS, arrives now on all digital platforms alongside physical editions, and it represents a clear shift in focus toward a harder, darker corner of the underground.

DARIUS is a 13-track joint project built around what both producers describe as an East Coast foundation pushed into modern underground territory. The concept draws on imperial imagery and forgotten empires, with Persian influences folded into boom bap construction. The album is framed as a collector’s release, available digitally as well as in two exclusive vinyl pressings and a limited digipack CD edition. Where Background Check cast a wide net across generations and coasts, DARIUS reads as something more deliberate and contained, with every production credit and feature selection pointed in the same direction.

The roster on DARIUS is dense and specifically sourced. Eto, Flee Lord, Daniel Son, XP The Marxman, Jamal Gasol, and Yah Sin are among those on the album. The lead single, “Bass Out The Fortress,” features Eto, Flee Lord, and AZ. AZ’s presence on this project is well-timed. AZ released Doe or Die III, his eleventh studio album, on May 8, 2026, through Mass Appeal Records, completing a trilogy that began in 1995 and putting him back in active mode heading into the summer.

The album’s thematic frame, referencing ancient empires and street culture in the same breath, gives it a distinct visual and sonic identity. Whether listeners come to it through the single, the vinyl, or the stream, the project is positioned for an audience that treats rap as a serious listening practice. DARIUS is out now.