Buy Now! Y Society – Travel At Your Own Pace Instrumentals

As far as recent underground albums go, few reach the level of hip-hop purity that Y Society’s 2007 debut, Travel At Your Own Pace, was able to achieve. Y Society is comprised of Boston emcee Insight, and DC producer Damu The Fudgemunk. They brought a focus to traditional hip-hop, reminiscent of the Native Tongues era, during a time when a lot of hip-hop had lost touch with its roots. Needless to say, Travel At Your Own Pace, is an essential album for any hip-hop head’s collection.

Thankfully, hip-hop fans are getting a pleasant reminder of just how strong this music is with the release of the Travel At Your Own Pace (Instrumentals), courtesy of producer-extraordinaire, Damu The Fudgemunk. The highlights here are much the same as on the original album. The playful honky-tonk of “Never Off (On & On)” rides over a steady drum beat. “Hole In Your Pocket” picks up the pace a bit, maintaining that classic vocal sample, while utilizing a more complex drum sequence.

One of the most pleasant features of this production is how seamless the transitions are. Damu adds on various intros and outros that bridge from one track to the next nicely. The entire album has a very cohesive feel from front to back. While each track remains distinct, there are certain elements that Damu tends carry over. He has an affinity for smooth jazz and soul samples, giving this album a very natural, semi-throwback appeal. Mellow keys and horns run in and out, and give Damu’s tracks a sense of freedom. When Damu constructed this album, he made sure that nothing was over the top. Therefore he allowed Insight’s (insightful) rhymes to take center stage, while providing a simple yet elegant backdrop. Now that his backdrop has come to the forefront, it is just that much more apparent how strong and detailed Damu’s production is.

In addition to the standard Y Society tracks, Damu gives us a few bonus cuts. The terrific beats present on “Paranoid Remix” and “Detour” sandwich the masterful “Same Beat”. “Same Beat” may sound familiar to Damu loyalists. He dropped the Same Beat EP, earlier this year, which featured that track among others. However, even those who have only heard Travel At Your Own Pace, are likely to pick up on this one. “Same Beat” is actually an extended version of the outro to “This Advice”, putting into effect a stabbing jazz piano sample. Note: The interlude beats, including “Same Beat” are only available on the cd/vinyl version from Redefinition Records.

Damu’s catalogue is rapidly piling up with fantastic production after fantastic production. This instrumental album is just a further testament to his talent and appreciation for hip-hop’s foundations.