I could feel my heart flutter a little as soon as I heard that the new “Felt Vol. 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez” was set to drop on November 17th. Having been a big fan of what Slug and MURS have done separately and their work together on the first 2 Felt albums, I was eager to get my mitts on Vol. 3. As soon as it became available I grabbed it on iTunes. For those of you who don’t know, Felt is a collaborative project between Slug of Atmosphere and MURS from the Living Legends. Featuring The Grouch of Living Legends (Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci) and Anthony Davis (Ant) of Atmosphere (Felt Vol. 2: A Tribute to Lisa Bonet) on production.
Aesop Rock was chosen as the maestro on production of “Felt Vol. 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez” with a signature style of dark and gritty garage beats to bring to the table. Aesop has a very distinct manner of rappin and luminous beats to match that signature style. I can appreciate Aesop Rock as an individual artist, but I have to admit that I was skeptical of him on production and after listening to the new “Felt Vol. 3” a few times, rightfully so. It seems like the beats and the rhymes are like oil and water, they just don’t mix.
The first two Felt albums had a playful and imaginative vibe with a congealed sound that brought the whole album together. Like puzzle pieces, it all seemed to fit together perfectly to make a complete picture. Every song was juicy, full, and dripping with talent that made you want more. Felt appeared to be the ground-breaking project that revealed a delicious recipe for hip hop by bringing all the elements together. “Felt” and “Felt Vol. 2” lead us to believe that this was the beginning of beautiful relationship, setting us up for what we know that Slug and MURS are capable of.
“Felt Vol. 3” leaves much to be desired especially when compared to their previous projects. The beats have the personality of Aesop Rock, while Slug and MURS bring lyrics fit for hip hop kings making for a confusing combination that never quite comes together. I found myself waiting for a few tracks to balance out the album with some bump, funk, jazz, and electro samples, but the dirty, dark, low-fi, grinded beats were carried throughout the album.
I never quite got that warm & fuzzy feeling that the first two albums left me with. Reluctantly, I must admit they missed the mark on this one. But I still got mad love for Slug, MURS and Aesop! Better luck next time boys.
~Portia <3
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