On paper, Soul Position, which is the collision of Blueprint and RJD2, looks like hip-hop's next big supergroup. When he's on, Blueprint's voice wraps around beats with an aggressive elasticity reminiscent of a young, hungry Del, utilizing clever wordplay and conveying a personable honesty. He's carried an underground buzz for the better part of a year and Urb magazine recently tagged him as one of the "next 100". And RJD2-- do we really need to recap this man's accomplishments of late? To paraphrase the esteemed Big L: if production was a game, RJ would be MVP.
Still, hype and individual talent do not necessarily equal a perfect match. And while few would dispute Deadringer's status as one of the year's most entertaining records, it's also widely accepted that the tracks which feature emcees are the album's weakest. So, the big question with the Unlimited EP is not whether Blueprint and RJD2 will bring the heat-- we all know they will-- but whether or not their distinctive styles will sync with one another.
After a brief and astoundingly soulful intro track, the disc opens with the title song, and it's everything we'd hoped for and expected from this collaboration, with Blueprint declaring, "Let's take it back to the fundamentals," and RJD2 backing up him with a thumping drum track laced with playful flute and booming horn samples. This upbeat and mischievous production is the perfect foil for Blueprint's acrobatic vocal delivery. "Revolution starts with somebody loud," Blueprint raps, "somebody to throw the brick into the crowd." Soul Position have officially kicked off this record with a hundred-pound slab of sweetness.
If "Unlimited" is a slow cruise down the boulevard of funk, "Mic Control" is a shuffling retreat into dark New Orleans alleyways. RJD2 provides a track that's nothing short of phenomenal: a noir piano sample is fastened to a plodding beat as a bluesy voice sings, "Walking into this world alone..." Over this, RJ throws down bluesy guitar and cello that reinforces the song's smoky atmosphere. And although the mood is definitely darker than the man's usual fare, he wisely injects the track with enough swing for Blueprint to anchor his taunting rhymes to.
Unfortunately, the chemistry falls off a bit in the EP's second half. While there's nothing wrong with the chopped-up production of "Take Your Time", RJD2 should have realized that the track is a bit too slo-mo for Blueprint's rhymes. Thankfully, RJ redeems himself from this unfortunate aberration with the crackling blues instrumental "Oxford You Really Owe Me"-- even with a screeching metal guitar sample thrown real low in the mix, this track is utterly sublime. And what makes this EP all the more impressive is that it's just a warm-up for Soul Position's full-length to be released this winter. If these two can sustain the energy they've generated for this release, Soul Position may well be on their way to great things.
