Send "Blueprint " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 As Nas dutifully informed us on "Ether", both KRS-One and Jay-Z made an album called Blueprint. The two of them also penned crucial lines regarding 1988: "fresh for 88, you suckas" introduced Boogie Down Productions' By All Means Necessary, one of many essential records from what's considered the greatest year in hip-hop history. It was also the height of the crack epidemic and Jay's boast that "I'm still spendin' money from 88" inspired many of his peers to back up their hustling résumé with similar claims. That's a lot of history for an underground producer/MC from a humble Midwestern city to invoke, and Columbus native Blueprint's otherwise personable debut, 1988, predictably suffered from it, hamstrung by Golden Age hagiography and pedantic moralizing about the current landscape. While the title of Adventures in Counter-Culture is a fair indication that he hasn't gotten over his hang-ups, it's fortunately a bit of false advertising: This is an ambitious, diverse, and less agenda-driven record.It's heartening to hear Blueprint acknowledging how things have changed not just since 1988 but 1988 as well. Heavy-handed references to "Welcome to the Terrordome" and Do the Right Thing are wisely exchanged for a wide range of sounds that can occasionally work against Adventures by making it sound too diffuse: Electro touches up against holistic R&B sessions, aerobic funk giving way to trudging goth that owes much to Eminem. For all of his carping about radio trends, Blueprint indulges in the most prominent of all-- rebranding himself as a rap&B hybrid-- but the results are surprisingly impressive: Whether within the joyous rave-up of "So Alive" or the fluttering guitar lines and brushed drums of "Welcome Home", 'Print's supple vocals sound less like pop-radio hedgebetting than something that similar curmudgeon-turned-crooner Phonte accomplished quite nicely on recent Foreign Exchange albums. Happily, he's still got too much of his soul and lyricism invested in the rap game to make that leap quite yet. In the tradition of Rhymefest or Obie Trice or Black Milk, Blueprint's occasionally animated flow is ultimately backed up by heartland humility, self-reliance cut with a large dose of self-deprecation. Hustle isn't a metaphor for him, but a quantification of worth. But as on 1988, his most compelling target is himself-- single "Keep Bouncing" is a thoroughly written tribute to barely functional alcoholism that's either as funny or sad as you want it to be. Even if it's focused on how a minor celebrity can score free drinks from fans and low-level groupies, brief asides about shitty bar bands and intoxicated misanthropy ("I probably wouldn't kick it with y'all if I was sober/ Vagrant, dick out pissin' in the corner") make it painfully real....full text |
| Hiphopdx |
| Columbus, Ohio's Blueprint has delivered some of the most thought-provoking Hip Hop from the underground throughout the 2000s. As one half of Soul Position, 'Printmatic's wisdom has permeated his lyrics, while his wide array of production abilities made solo releases like 1988 major bridges in the gap between Technics and iPods. A lover of concept and message, Blueprint's sophomore Rhymesayers solo, Adventures in Counter-Culture is one of the best examples to date of a talented emcee looking for a call to action and walls to tear down. "Mind Body & Soul" is a prime example of the newfound dimensions in Blueprint's music. With an '80s Sci Fi film score-sounding synth, 'Print rhymes particularly slow and carefully, speaking to the stifled dreams of the independent emcee. Hip Hop to Blueprint is a labor of love, but as he chronicles the sincerity of his rhymes and the intensity of the process, it's apparent that it's hardly a choice. With Angelica Lee's smoky singing, the song, despite its subject matter, veers away from Hip Hop. Instead, 'Print combines an Electronic background, a jazzier chorus with his poetic pontifications to be something all its own. Deeper in the album, "Fly Away" also pulls from an '80s source. The keyboard drums may hint towards a Breakfast Club library montage, but the words are crying for escape. One of the most unique voices in Rap, one that often sounds like pained proclamations, takes on that of a menial job worker, looking to leave it all behind at any cost. Adventures in Counter-Culture takes on many characters and sentiments through society's present melting pot of outcasts. Just as longtime Blueprint tour buddies Atmosphere can speak for punks, B-boys and Suicide Girls, so can Blueprint. From bedroom emcees to dishwashers to Kerouac wannabe's, this album feels their angst. "Stole Our Yesterday" absorbs the Recession and looks at the lowered expectations and polluted dreams in its wake, wrapped in a storytelling allegory of bank-robbery. Still, for all of its dark subject matter, 'Print's production and experimentation make this hardly a dark affair. "So Alive" is inspiring, using the emcee's contained abilities as a greater vocalist to present a momentum and mounting urgency that feels like an emotional jailbreak. Throughout this album 'Print channels his wisdom and sincerity that was so potent within Soul Position's 8 Million Stories and combines it with his versatile production vision and truly breaks out....full text |
| Mtnweekly |
| Blueprint once summed up the underground music scene with the lyrics: “It’s just music man, ain’t no right or wrong. No formula can teach people how to write a song. No guarantee that people gonna like a song, so let me end this sh*t and get my album done…” Blueprint was preparing his fans for his next album release–which was sure to be, if anything, completely unique. Fans who know him well were already privy to his ‘against the grain’ approach to writing music. His style has resonated with fans, as well as some major players in the music industry. Illogic teamed up with Blueprint to create “Greenhouse Effect” which came out with an album as recently as last year. Additionally, RJD2-arguably the most talented and well known producer in underground hip hop, teamed up with him to create “Soul Position,” whose albums have been favorably reviewed by fans and critics alike. As an individual artist, Blueprint has one previous EP released through Rhymesayers called, “1988” which was also critically acclaimed. But that was a long time ago (2005), and fans began to get antsy waiting for his next release. He went quiet for 6 years, doing occasional guest work on other artist’s albums (BK-One: Radio do Cannibal), and then there was “Adventures in Counter Culture,” and fans rejoiced. ‘Adventures’ is an album to be proud of. From the listener’s perspective, it’s the type of album that you can play for someone unfamiliar with Blueprint and illicit the response, “Why haven’t I heard this before?” From the perspective of hip hop critics, it’s the type of album that proves beyond any rational doubt that new music is still out there, yet to be discovered. The sound is unique, the rhythms are intricately developed, the production is impeccable, and the lyrics are intellectual and progressive. As an album, Adventures is more artistic than it is catchy. Instead of immediately falling in love with one specific song, this music takes a while to grow on you. That’s not to imply that the music isn’t enjoyable right away-it is. But the beats are not simple. One measure doesn’t simply repeat itself over and over. Rather, the beats are composed of longer patterns which don’t repeat on themselves for 16-32 measures. The effect this has on the listener is that the song is difficult to fully comprehend after listening only once. It forces you to listen to it again and again in order to grasp what the song is all about....full text |
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