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This EP was released on May 27th this year. Honestly, I’ve never actually heard any of Blueprint’s music, but this EP caught my attention when I saw that it was completely produced by Aesop Rock. I looked up who Blueprint was, and when I saw that he was with Rhymesayers I was even more interested than before. I went to his YouTube page and watched a video where he was signing posters. One of his songs was playing in the background, and I was like “damn. This is dope,” so I bought the EP on iTunes just now. It’s been a while since I’ve checked out an artist’s music completely blind like this. I’ve never heard any wack shit from a Rhymesayers artist tho. Not that I’m super familiar with Rhymesayers, but you know what I mean. I’m expecting this to be really dope. As I mentioned before, every track is produced by Aesop Rock.

Track 1: Vigilante Genesis

Oh shit… This beat is dope af. I’m more familiar with Aesop Rock for his actual rapping, but this is actually a really good beat. Blueprint’s goin’ in now. Damn. Okay, this is a concept album I guess. Well, not album… You know what I mean. Should I spoil the story? Well… I probably would if it was a more well known artist like Nas because most people will have already heard that shit, but I probably shouldn’t ruin stories from more underground artists like this. I just listened to the whole song tho. This shit is dope af. Blueprint just spit his fuckin’ ass off. It was just one long ass verse. “Punk ass security; they circlin’ shifts / Seemed like 5 minutes, but I timed it at six / And I done come too far to go out like a bitch / So I chill behind a dumpster, hit my target, and dip.” This is so fuckin’ hard. He killed this shit. Aesop’s beat was dope af, and Blueprint sounded great over it. I don’t see what’s not to like about this track. Blueprint has a really aggressive delivery. His voice sounds really familiar, but I can’t think of a good comparison… Is it Eminem? Does Blueprint sound like Eminem? I guess he kinda does… That doesn’t really sound right tho… I don’t know. He has a dope voice tho. He sounds really good over this production. I don’t have anything negative to say about this track. I love this song. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 2: Not Sure Why I Came Back

The beat is dope. This story is kinda reminding me of the way Ghostface did that 36 Seasons album. You should check that album out by the way. It’s dope. “They not fuckin’ ’round / Pretty sure my wig is split / Spun around and seen him with the bottle that he hit me with.” This is fucking awesome. I love it when artists tell crazy stories like this. This is so fuckin’ gangsta. I love this song. I don’t wanna tell y’all too much about the story ’cause I don’t wanna spoil it, but all you need to know is that Blueprint did his job. It’s REALLY entertaining. I love this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Graffiti Writer Killed

This is the song that was playing in the background of that video that I mentioned in the preamble to this review. This beat is really dark. It’s perfect for the shit Blueprint’s rappin’ about. He’s on his fuckin’ Batman shit. I don’t even really like superheroes that much, but whenever shit like that is connected to Hip Hop in some way it’s just super dope to me. Fuck it. I’m gon’ tell y’all what happened in this song. I’m not gonna tell y’all everything tho. Basically, as the title says, some kid got murdered. Blueprint wears a gas mask when he’s on his vigilante shit, and the graffiti writer was wearing a gas mask. Blueprint’s pretty sure that the murderers are the people he was fightin’ in the previous song, and he thinks that they mistook the kid for him. There. That’s all I’m gon’ tell y’all. I fuckin’ love this shit. It’s like listening to a fuckin’ superhero movie. This is way darker than anything Marvel would be able to put out tho. Well, I THINK it is. I haven’t really seen that many Marvel movies. I saw the first Avengers… I think that was the last Marvel movie I saw… Hold up, lemme check… Yup. Damn. That was all the way back in 2012? That’s crazy. Anyway, I fuckin’ love this song. It’s kinda hard for me to talk about music like this without spoiling shit, but I think I’m doin’ a decent job so far. This is dope af to me. I hope I’m not overrating this shit. 5/5

Track 4: Tears Of A Drone

This beat is cool. It’s not as good as the other ones, but I still like it. I just listened to the whole song. It’s dope. I’m not really blown away like I was with the other songs, but I still enjoyed it. The shit Blueprint—do people call him Blue for short? I’m gettin’ tired of typing out Blueprint over and over again—was rappin’ about on this song wasn’t as interesting as the shit on the other songs. I still enjoyed the track tho. I fuck with this shit. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 5: Corner Store Showdown

This beat is dope af. Goddamn. This is so fucking dope. The song just ended. Without spoiling what happened, all I can say is that Blueprint did a fantastic job with this song. This shit has me hooked. Every time a song ends I just can’t wait to get to the next one to see what happens. I love this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 6: The Watering Hole

This beat isn’t bad. I just listened to the whole song. It’s dope. This is another track that I’m not really blown away by, but it’s a necessary part of the story. I enjoyed the song. One nitpick I have is that in his verse he mentions that this chick he’s rapping about named Tasha has a foreign accent, but at the end of the track you hear him talking to her, and there’s no accent. Again, it’s just a nitpick. It’s really not that big of a deal. It kinda bothered me a little bit tho. Anyway, this is another dope song. It’s not as crazy as the other tracks, but I enjoyed it. It’s a good song. 4/5

Track 7: Ten Paces

This beat is dope. Jesus Christ. Blueprint. This song is fucking incredible. Hahahaha. This is so fucking gangsta. This is like the final confrontation with the main villain, and it’s fucking insane. He has Tasha as his sidekick now I guess, and… Oh. Sorry. I almost spoiled this shit for y’all. I just have to quote these lines tho… “I put my blade to his neck, and started slowly cuttin’ / Heard a shotgun pump, then I heard it start dumpin’ / Moved just in time / The shot hit the fat dude / Blew the face right off the skull it was attached to.” This is so fucking hard. Damn. It’s got a cliffhanger ending too. Goddamn. This is fucking awesome. I love this song. This is dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

This EP is fucking incredible. Hahaha. I’m so happy right now. I fuckin’ love this project. I’ve always had kind of a soft spot for storytelling in Hip Hop, so to have a whole EP where it’s done so well is perfect for me. Aesop Rock did his thing on the production, but Blueprint could’ve held this shit down over fuckin’ generic ass DJ Mustard beats because as soon as he started spittin’ on the first track I was hooked. There is not a single wack song on here. If you’re reading this, PLEASE buy this project. Trust me; you will not be disappointed. Blueprint left me wanting more, and I saw him mention that there’s a sequel planned on Twitter, so I’m definitely looking forward to that shit. At first, I was thinkin’ that it’d be cool to hear a song where he was fighting Czarface or something, but this is a lot darker & grittier than anything I’ve heard from Czarface. I love this shit. This EP is dope af. This is the best project I’ve heard that’s been released this year.

Favorite Song: 10 Paces

Least Favorite Song: Tears Of A Drone

Verdict:

94%

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