Fresh for '88, you suckas. Get ready to bump and bang to the old school sounds of one of the foremost lyrically elite pioneers of the underground. This album knocks.
Blueprint's 2005 throwback album, "1988," is a progressively unique venture in innovation, beat-making and lyrical emcee skills. As one of the most content-rich albums this side of the millennium, the sweet situation in your headphones makes it immediately obvious that this is a must-have for anyone who even remotely likes hip-hop.
"1988" is the digital homage to an era of analogue. It serves as Blueprint's well-constructed dedication album to the late '80s, a time when vibrant jump suits, gaudy golden chains and competitive break dancing broke out under graffiti-ridden street corners to the pulsating melodies of tape-deck stereos.
Even if you can't remember the era, it does an incredible job of making it feel like you just copped the new De La Soul album on your way to a Run-DMC show. This beautifully crafted illusion is effective as a background to some slick beats and dope lyrics.
Usually, with many artists claiming the same level of depth and lyrical innovation, a lot of albums succeed in portraying a complex, thought-provoking message but commonly fail to make the fundamental effort of getting listeners to nod their heads. "1988" will put you in a neck brace.
It's easy to get lost in the layers of creatively scratched up beats ridden with blaring base, glossy bell tones, melodic synth guitar chords and creatively inserted voice samples.
Blueprint, or Print, arranges the levels in a way that is instantaneously appealing to listeners with a base fetish. If you aren't careful, you can really blow out your speakers on this one. However, a clean pair of studio headphones works best for catching all the little meticulous details.
The album takes off like a cruise missile and never stops until destroying every hip-hop convention in the rhyme book. Blueprint opens up by slamming listeners in the face with a string of three interconnecting tracks laced perfectly together.
The "Introduction" blasts samples of beat-boxers enthusiastically screaming "88!" over a thick beat and then bridges to "Anything is Possible" over the line "fresh for '88, you suckas." At this point, Print wants you to realize you've left Kansas.
Track three "1988," takes the album into full flight, saturating your mind with a melodically pleasant beat, while lyrically dismissing the current wave no-talent rappers.
With content, the album is creatively split up into three different genres.
The first blends hilarious rhetoric over silly sounding, yet intensely appealing beats to create a lighthearted side of "1988" that works on many levels. Tracks like "Where's Your Girlfriend At?" "Big Girls Need Love Too" and "Tramp" are not only smile-worthy, but at times laugh-out-loud funny.
With the second genre, Print brings a battle style to the forefront by dishing out beat-heavy tracks while spitting with an aggressive resolve. This is the high point of the album. Tracks like "Lo-Fi Funk," "Boombox," and incredible sounding and completely a cappella "Fresh" are awe-inspiring exhibitions in talented hip-hop.
"Fresh" outlines rap attempts to create a false sense of reality. "You haven't even found your style/You didn't even battle 'til you saw "8 Mile"/Talkin 'bout what you wrote/How you know so-and-so and you're the next one to blow/You wanna rhyme and produce but suck at both/And if you get on stage with that, you're headed for jokes."
The third avenue explores deeper and more convoluted aspects of the rap industry, police brutality and life in general.
This is when the album falters marginally, withholding it from achieving perfect marks. With the exception of the brilliant "Liberated" track, the socially conscious endeavors fall short of convincing the audience that Print truly feels what he's saying.
While still well put together, these songs are just not lyrically up to par and really expose Blueprint's beginnings as a producer and not an emcee. The darker tunes "Kill Me First" and "Trouble on My Mind" don't effectively fit the overall mood of the album either.
Blueprint's incredibly crafted album "1988" came out last year, and it's a CD you can't afford to miss. Fans of good music should pick it up ASAP.
