Bop Alloy – Bop Alloy
Unlimited Vinyl: 2010
Jazz has long been a staple of hip-hop, a sound that is one of the primary foundations upon which hip-hop was built and a powerful influence in some of the greatest albums ever produced in hip-hop’s relatively short history. As such, Bop Alloy (comprised of Bodymore emcee Substantial and Seattle producer Marcus D) and their self-titled album pay full tribute to Gang Starr, the Native Tongues artists, and countless others whose sounds were rooted in the blue and swung notes.
I don’t tend to use hip-hop as background music, but Bop Alloy qualifies: nothing jumps out at you, no random gunshot sound effects, no emcee imploring you to get off your ass and shake your dreads. Rather, Substantial encourages us to chill, reflect, progress, love, and think. At last, something you can play in front of your parents! “Chillaxation” will appeal to those smooth jazz fans out there (like my parents when they’re not bumping the funk like it’s Oakland circa 1976). Or if you’re one of those jazz purists who’d rather take shots of Clorox than acknowledge smooth jazz (you know who you are), “The Boy With No Name” brings a smoky, bluesy backdrop to Substantial’s somber stories.
The show belongs to Marcus D’s heavily-jazz infused melodies, as Bop Alloy lays the jazz on thick and at times overshadows Substantial. Substantial is genuine, a good writer and an able storyteller, and it helps to have a low, toned-down approach against jazzy beats, but this album could put you to sleep if you’re not careful. Not that it’s lacking in quality, but if you’re a little sleep-deprived, you may want to opt for that M.O.P. in your iPod instead. Nobody’s going to confuse Substantial for Ghostface Killah in terms of energy and mic presence, but if you’re getting drowned out by Kenny G, you might want to ratchet it up a little, or at least have your engineer turn your mic up. Regardless, Bop Alloy is worth checking for, especially for the jazz lovers.
2.5 out of 5
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