BLUEPRINT – VESSEL

The life of the independent worker can be trying. It’s a grind but also a constant hustle to show everyone what you’ve been grinding on. For many, they become disillusioned, so much so that they eventually drift off into becoming nothing more than a fond memory. But for others, the art still tugs at their very essence, and they’re unable to relinquish the instruments, the mic: the reason for their being.

While he’s well known in Hip Hop circles as an emcee, with little to no fanfare, the Columbus, Ohio, emcee Blueprint released Chamber Music 2 last year. This album bookends Chamber Music, which he dropped 20 years ago. The release showcases Blueprint as the producer that he is, while listeners are able to lose themselves in the magic of the music itself. There were the occasional vocals featuring Illogic, Aesop Rock, etc., but it’s his prowess behind the board that should be taken note of. The album seemed to be the artist stepping out of his comfort zone after a 6-year hiatus.

This week, Blueprint returns with the release of his new full-length, Vessel (Weightless Recordings), and finds him moving full-steam ahead. With his 12^th full-length album, ‘Print seems to run a variety of moods, kicking things off with potency on “God’s Plan.” Here, she’s self-reflective without sounding boastful or arrogant. Here, he does what rappers do: let everybody know what he’s accomplished through his hard work. When he spits, “Printmatic, it still ain’t as deep as it gets/to a man whose mind is a bottomless pit/but still certain things didn’t click/till I saw God’s plan was to follow my gift,” that’s when we know, although he’s had years in this game, he’s only scratching at the surface. The backdrop lends itself to the theme, with the drawl of guitar notes across a thumping rhythmic pulse. His words seem to revolve around what he knows and how he lives/lived without regret.

With the morose “It Doesn’t Matter,” his view is around self-sufficiency, with a bit of braggadocio. He treads that same theme on several tracks, but shifting like a chameleon on the piano-driven “What You Leave Behind,” offering advice while using his own experience to get his point across. The standout around this trope is probably “Black Plates,” with an infectious melody that will never relinquish its hold. Guitar chords and backing vocal harmonies are a canopy of sound that lend themselves to ‘Print’s clever phrasing and motif. This is indeed a banger.

No one could ever say Blueprint is a one-trick pony, and on “Forever”, with what sounds like a DJ Premier ode, he does more than becomes self-effacing, even tackling the issues he had with his own sobriety while on the sweet caress of “Family First” he touches on memorable love with family, again, sharing a bit of his own world and completely embracing it with Angelica Lee providing the alluring backing vocals to reel you in.

Through Vessel, it seems Blueprint has found his stride again, moving into a new chapter in his life. ‘Print has always been a favorite of many. Fans, new and old, should rejoice with not only the new pep in his step but with the fact that he’s still able to piece together fantastic songs.