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Envelope

It wasn’t billed as a mixtape like those profiled yesterday but Columbus, Ohio-based emcee/producer Blueprint’s Blueprint vs. Funkadelic project from earlier this Summer might as well have been one. Its underlying concept, building tracks on samples from Funkadelic songs, bordered on the sort of mashup-style shenanigans mixtapes are often made of these days. And ‘Print even gave it away as a free download. But like I said, it wasn’t a mixtape.

Envelope ‘Shark Bolt’Shark Bolt, the new Blueprint-produced full-length from fellow Bustown emcee Envelope which was recently released by the Weightless Records imprint isn’t a mixtape either. But it picks up right where Blueprint vs. Funkadelic left off insomuch as it finds ‘Print digging into the crates for familiar breaks and samples and making crackly tracks that hearken back to the an era when sampling the likes of Funkadelic wasn’t necessarily the time-tested cliché it is now-a-days.

It’s not Midwestern Funk sides supplying most of the grooves this time though. Instead Blueprint hovers near the Southern Soul section of his collection on most of the LP’s thirteen cuts. The most notable example of his Soul fetish is “I Got My Motivations,” which flips an Otis Redding classic I’ve tried making beats out of (only to delete my work every time) countless times myself. He freaks it lovely though, chopping it just right so it moves with a repetitiously rugged shambling gait that makes it sound like RZA producing for EPMD and fits Envelope like a battered pair of Timbs.

Envelope “I Got My Motivations”

Oh, you thought I forgot it was Envelope’s record because the beats are so dope? No way! Not only is he dope on the mic, he’s a character with broad-based appeal. Like a Hip-Hop Al Bundy, he’s an everyday misfit who can rap about being broke, broads, drinking & getting high, feeling suicidal, and all manner of other real life miscellany, mix in a diverse assortment of cultural references, and make it both relatable and entertaining. In that respect his approach to songwriting remind me a lot of the dudes from Nuk Fam, their homie Cool Calm Pete, 100dBs & Ryan O’Neil, Minnesota’s P.O.S. and Blu, all some of my favorite contemporary Hip-Hop acts. While his actual rhyme style and microphone presence, marked by a slurry lackadaisical slow-flow, most recalls Nuk Fammers Junk Science and Iller Than Theirs, the aforementioned Cool Calm Pete and even his producer Blueprint for good measure.

Marley Marl“I Got My Motivations” isn’t the only instance of beats and rhymes complimenting each other particularly remarkably either. Envelope sounds good shouting out his dead homie and getting self-analytical over booming kick drums, and a recycled Rare Earth sample on “Ain’t Shit Changed.” The plucky guitar loop on “Straight Up” gives its tale of regretful drunkeness a whimsical juxtaposition that suits Envelope’s humorous interjections. A fastrap-ish track — comprised of Soulful horns, throbbing bass and filtered vocal sample — gives the lame chick critiquing “Teeth Sucker” a sloppy urgency and a sense of late-’80s Marley Marl producing The W-era Wu-Tang Clan. While the title track departs from the Soul-sampling blueprint (oy… ) favoring proggy Def Jux-esque synths, beeping tones and a noisy drum loop over which Envelope waxes philosophical about religious ideas about heaven, hell and suicide, name-dropping Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley’s unfortunate ends.

Envelope even registers his opinion on blogs over twangy guitars and a rolling drum break on “Oh My My My,” which surprisingly enough doesn’t sample Slick Rick for the hook. Unsurprisingly he doesn’t put much stock in the blogosphere. But that’s okay, I agree with his sentiments about the people you care about and who have your back being the real arbiters of “cool.” And the rest of the song, where he dissects arm-chair activists, questions the validity of contemporary science due to it’s inability to produce hoverboards at this late date (like much of the album) is so nutty it’s witty. And while Envelope himself may not give a shit what I think, that’s the kind of thing I think is pretty cool myself.

This entry was written by El Keter, posted on July 29, 2008 at 11:11 am, filed under Music and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

37 Comments

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