Bostonist had a chance to catch one of our favorite indie hip hop acts when Soul Position brought their "things go better with RJ and Al" tour to the Middle East. Soul Position is beat master RJD2 and fellow Columbus, Ohio homie Blueprint.
RJ and Blueprint were on. Really on. Bostonist had a chance to chat with them before the show. They are both disarmingly easy going and, well, nice. And funny. When Bostonist told them we were reviewing the show, Blueprint was all like "aw, man. damn. Now we gotta do a good show." And RJ joined in, "Yeah, we were all set to take it easy and not put out at all tonight, until you showed up."
And they did put on a hell of a show. And clearly had a great time doing it. Blueprint's energy level intensified as he drew off the enthusiasm of the crowd. He constantly made eye contact with those pressed close to the stage, alternately mugging, grinning from ear-to-ear, and staring out with fierce intensity. Although RJ stayed in the background for most of the show (see below), he let the turntables do the talking.
On Soul Position's acclaimed Unlimited EP and two albums, RJ crafted wonderfully funky, soulful, and boombastic beats that complemented Blueprint's somewhat gravely mid-range voice, sharp delivery and impeccable flow. RJ's production always left enough room for Blueprint to stretch out a bit. And it was all in effect at the Middle East. But there was more. In addition to all the familiar beats, horns, fuzzed-out bass lines, and other embellishments, RJ threw a few of pop culture classics into the mix. The crowd sung along to Jaco's "Billy Jean" and the Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime." And in a tribute to the late J Dilla, RJ looped Jay Dee's remix of the Pharcyde's "Runnin'" into the performance of "Run." Most of those gathered -- at least those who got the reference -- loved it.
One of the show's highlights was the appearance by Mo Buttons (RJ with an AKAI 2000 MPC strapped on), dancing around and banging out the beats (and teaching the crowd a new dance to "I Need My Minutes").
Another highlight was the performance of "Hand-Me-Downs" from Soul Position's new Things Go Better album. The track packs massive funk horns looped into bigger-than-life beats, booming bass, and squiggly scratches (and yes, that's a Flavor Flav sample). The chorus has a monster hook: "Come on say it loud / Look what we handed down / Don't it make you proud? / Look what we handed down"
My mamma gave me Donny Hathaway, "Young, Gifted, and Black."
I miss the positivity. I wanna bring it back.
But rap nowadays is by a bunch of ignorant cats.
No young, gifted, and black -- just guns, bitches, and crack.
Unfortunately, Bostonist got to the gig just as Beantown's own Project Move (whose new album Love Gone Wrong/The Butterfly Theory just dropped two weeks ago) finished up their set. But we caught One Be Lo (aka OneManArmy of Binary Star). One Be Lo's set was high energy start-to-finish. Much of the crowd was familiar with his material, and responded enthusiastically when exhorted to join in call-and-response choruses.
All in all it was a great night. It's true, things really do go better with RJ and Al.
listen to Hand-Me-Downs (edit).mp3 and Keys (edit).mp3 (clips)
Soul Position: website | myspace | purchase
RJD2: website | myspace | purchase
Blueprint: website | myspace | purchase
Project Move: myspace | purchase
post contributed by Matt Durutti. More of Matt's photos may be viewed here (Soul Position) and here (One Be Lo).
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