Blame One: Days Chasing Days

daysndaysdaysndaysAt this late date, whenever I see the name Blu attached to a project, I make a concerted effort to check it out. And while the Blu and Exile collab from a few years back hasn't had a proper follow up, both producer and emcee appear on the newly minted Blame One disc entitled Days Chasing Days. Exile apparently played a huge role in the organization and execution of this disc, giving Blame One feedback on each piece of production or verse that's now represented here. Oddly enough, considering my devotion to Blu (no homo), the track that he's on here is one of the lesser efforts.

"Wonder Why," which was also produced by Blu, who we'll be hearing more from shortly in the future, functions mostly as the hook here. He sings in a smooth and not too offensive manner, but his verse here finds him sounding out of sorts. While Blu has a pretty recognizable style, his contribution here kinda sounds like a piece of some lost De La Soul track. And while, De La is probably one of the most important groups to record in the genre, Blu kinda sounds like he phoned this one in. But, of course, this track being one of the low points of the disc, it's excusable.

Even with this minor misstep, Days Chasing Days sounds new while adhering to an older concept of the genre. And for that reason, I find it hard to figure why the folks over at Art of Rhyme gave the disc a 3.75 outta 5. Surely, this effort deserves something better than a 'C' average. Even if this California based emcee sounds wholly detached from the scene that he sprung from, this is a major release in the career of Blame One.

This disc being the third long player from the Maryland born rapper, should have found a bit more press leading up to its release. And the fact that he's been rappin' since before he was ten, is amply displayed here over and over again.

The title track, which features Aloe Blacc as well as Beleaf, sports one of the many keyboard focused productions. Here, though, the shuffling drum pattern serves to root the song in more modern rap tropes. The sung chorus, again, doesn't do anyone any favors. That being said, every verse here is more than an enjoyable listen - lines like "All I wanna do is be famous for the heat in my brain" pretty succinctly explain the perspective from which this rapper views his role in the game.

The combination of old and new works here - and I guess Blu counts as something new. This disc isn't gonna make any inroads with dudes posted on the corner, but with the proper kinda marketing, Blame One should probably be a house hold name by the end of the year - I mean Exile's widely known and being his associate shouldn't hurt too much. Of course the fact that Days Chasing Days has been released via Soul Spazm might present a problem, but we'll see.