SOUL POSITION
Things Go Better With Rj and Al
Rhymesayers
· A hip hop album five years too late.
Five years ago, hip hop heads probably would have loved this album. Some people probably will today. But Things Go Better With Rj and Al, the second album from the Columbus, Ohio duo made up of producer Rjd2 and rapper Blueprint, is mostly a study of where hip hop went – not where it is or where it’s going.
There’s no 808 beats here, just typical soulful sample-crafted songs from Rjd2’s vast repertoire. His production is as solid as ever, but we’ve already got Deadringer and The Horror to admire his ability to weave together flute loops, chopped up string samples and funky guitar riffs and throw them all above a solid beat. The sound is getting a little tired, especially with Rjd2’s brother in beats, DJ Shadow, now producing tracks with certified Southerner David Banner and the Bay Area’s Keak da Sneak. It’s time for Rj to step up his game and come up with something new.
However, it’s not the tired production that makes Things Go Better With Rj and Al a plodding 40 minutes to sit through – it’s the rhymes. Blueprint is caught up in that indie-rapper "me against the world" persona that worked for Living Legends, Acyalone and Atmosphere in late ’90s early ’00s, but that sour attitude is well past its sell-by date.
Blueprint is best when he’s playing the clown on tracks like "Blame it on the Jager" and the album’s best track "The Extra Mile." But when he’s spitting "Rap nowadays is by a bunch of ignorant cats / No young, gifted and black, just guns, bitches and crack," on the track "No Gimmicks," it’s enough to make anyone who’s heard all that before roll their eyes instead of nod their head.
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