Customer Reviews

Things Go Better With Rj & Al

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Soul Position(Blueprint & RJD2) have caught my attention since I saw their performance on Scribble Jam 2003 and when I heard of this release, I knew I had to pick it up. Blueprint's old school presence is very obvious on this album. Production wise, RJD2 has become one of my overnight favorites. I have noticed that one of the tracks that I have had to hit the repeat button on is "The Cool Thing To Do", mainly because of the message that Blueprint(speaking to his niece) conveys...the first verse about the interests and possible dangers of dating boys and some precautions on what to do and the second verse consisting of the effects of teenage pregnancy. My second favorite would have to be "Effortless" which has that classic Rhymesayers vibe/sound. Overall, fans of RSE or Soul Position will not be disappointed. Please take the mainstream garbage out of your stereo and dive into the underground....I guarantee you will be instantly hooked.

To be honest, I'm kind of confused on the direction this album took lyrically. Not saying it's bad, because it definitely isn't, it's just sort of a twist from the previous material. There's more of a playful element evident throughout the whole record, and it's noticeably a bit slower as a whole than 8 Million Stories.
But seriously, Printmatic and RJ go together like PB and J. Silky smooth beats perfectly complimented by lyrics and a flow that has a flavor all its own. If you don't have this record, but you have 8 Million, and are curious as to this new direction I talk about- the best way to put it is if you like the f*ckajob track on the last album, the Find Me At the Club and Bad Girl tracks from Columbus or Bust, or you dug the Big Girls Need Love Too and Tramp tracks from 1988, you'll find the album's feel (as a whole, for better or worse) follows this pattern on Things Go Better. Some of the seriousness and introspection that characterized Print on 8 Million has been replaced by a more pop-type feel with tracks like Blame It On the Jager and Keep It Hot For Daddy.
I still enjoy it though. However, some may be disappointed if they purchase Things Go Better expecting the same depth and soul that was, from start to finish, all over 8 Million Stories. The beats are still tight, the lyrics great, there's just something missing that keeps this record from being on the same level.

I Agree with Everyone that said the Beats are AMAZING on this album. But how could you say that Bluprint is the downfall of this album??. RJD2 is a good producer, he's no madlib or Oh No, or even as good as the Hieroglyphics producer. The team of Soul Position is too underrated. Hot album, improvement from the Grade A 8 Million Stories. I give this one a A+ as I'm blamin it on the Jager (the drink or the 'tobacco'pipe?)

RJD2 and Blueprint are a great team. Soul Position should have more recognition than they do, but I guess that what's make them underground hip hop.

I think this is a solid effort. I personally think this album is awesome. It's much better than most of the stuff out there. This is perfect music just to sit back and chill on. This is some good background music to have on when you got some friends over. This music is perfectly paired with a nice bowl of some hookah tobacco, some friends, and a front porch to smoke it on.

Good evening Amazon, brothers, sisters, and I see some enemies.
All Pounds 'music obsessor', Crackpot Earl, Norfeest, and Lt Twalo, you are all clowns. Espically music obsessor, change your name right now.
Read no more, buy this cd, how could Rj and Printmatic not work? We won't have to worry, they do, every track, one at a time, one of a kind.
8 Million Stories launced and it was perfect, Rhymesayers was smiling instantly.
Things Go Better the follow up album came out and i slept on it, so before I bought it I read the reviews, from the above Nancy's and Sally's. I bought the album regardless because, like I said before, Blueprint and Rj are not the best, but there in the top two.
Look no futher and ignore the obvious, get this album.. Now.
And for the above nay-sayers, Go party together and get yourselves some horses, go up the mountains. quick bothering people.

I am a fan of Blueprint and RJD2, but I havent really listened to much Soul Position. I picked up this CD and didn't really expect much. I should have! The beats are great, but they arent the best I have heard from RJD2. However, they are perfectly complimented by the best rhymes I have heard from Blueprint. Hand-Me-Downs is by far the best song on the CD in my opinion. Blueprint intelligently smashes gangster rap and says everything that I have always wanted to hear a black rapper say. The Extra Mile, Blame it on the Jager, I'm free, and The Cool Thing To Do are amazing too.

I bought this album just randomly, I couldn't really choose anything, and I knew I wanted something new. I had heard nothing but good things about Blueprint, and he was on one of my favorite record lables (Rhymesayers Entertainment) and RJD2 is an amazing producer, so I figured why not.

And I love it...this album is great from start to finish, not a bad track on it. I will be picking up the rest of the Soul Position albums asap (along with 1988).

The Album kicks off with a sample that I cannot seem to place as an intro and quickly blends into the opening track "No Gimmicks" which sets the tone for the rest of the album which is 100% RJD2 and Blueprint "...just the best producer and the best MC, This is it, No limits No Gimmicks" Blueprint is at his battle ready best on this track but you can already sense the RJ is on a slightly different tip.

On the next track RJ gifts Print a relatively stripped down (by RJ's standards) bass & horns heavy track ala DJ Premier complete with the cuts & scratches. Print proceeds to give his two cents on the current state of Hip-Hop and the Black Community in General. By track three "The Extra Mile" it is clear that RJ is pushing the envelope production wise. Gone are the complex, layered grand productions we associate him with in are stripped down, horn heavy and guitar laced loops.

This is not neccesarily a bad thing and it generally works well when Print is on point lyrically as on "keys". On this one Print weaves an intricate tale with a somewhat surprising ending. It doesn't work that well when Blueprint is not in top form. Case in point is "Blame It On The Jager" which is not that bad but sounds tired after J-Zone's more creative version. It's made worse by the fact RJ's beat sounds a little like J-Zone anyway.

I've never been the greatest Blueprint fan and this album generally does nothing to convince me to change my mind. He tends to take his average man thing too far. Which is cool if you have a lot of charisma which he doesn't. The album is filled with too many concept tracks and not enough battle ready, crush an MC tracks. He relies on his humour and storytelling which are cool but won't have you pressing the rewind button. "I Need My Minutes" will surely have a lot of people in stitches but it does not do it for me. "Priceless" is a great concept but in a album filled with concepts it doesn't stand out.

RJ is the real reason I bought the album, he is easily one of my favourite indy producers and one listen to Diverse's One AM I was converted for life. On this album he generally comes correct especially on the more standard RJ tracks like "Drugs, Sex, Alcohol, Rock-N-Roll" and "Things Go Better". These are also the tracks when Print is at his best. On "The Cool Thing To Do" RJ doesn't really deliver and neither does Print with his Slick Rick rendition.

Overall the album has high points and weakpoints which might be easier to forgive on a longer album but not on a short one such as this. In all honesty both artists are to blame for this.

I think a lot of us are on the same page here. I think the spotlight review is dead on accurate. I'm like the reviewer below me, I bought this album only because RJD2 was doing the beats. I've never been that big a Blueprint fan. Maybe I'm missing the point or I'm just not getting what the allure of Blueprints rhymes are. I'd love for someone to point out to me what makes him so good -- I'm not hearing it. The thing about it, though, is that RJ didn't really come with any heat either. The production is lukewarm at best. I've been a fan of RJ's for a minute now, but I found myself nodding off to a lot of the production. And I think it was already pointed out that "No Gimmicks" is a bit misleading because this album is littered with gimmicky cuts. Tracks like "Keep It Hot For Daddy", "I Need My Minutes" and "Blame It On The Yager" are straight up wack.

Like I stated before, I've never been that big of a Blueprint fan, but he does manage to come through every now and then. "Hand-Me-Downs" is one of the few tracks that have the combination of beats and rhymes. "Keys" is a great story rap with decent production, but I can't help but feel like this song would've been astounding if left in the hands of a more capable emcee. "Priceless" is a good example of what these two can do when they both come correct. "The Cool Thing To Do" is another good cut too.

Things Go Better With RJ & Al is worth picking up only if you're an RJD2 fan. Even then, the production isn't necessarily stellar. I still don't see what all the buzz is about concerning Blueprint either. Dude is one of the most basic rappers I've ever heard. I don't expect Chino XL or Canibus type wordplay, but hell, I can get in the booth and do what Blueprint does -- just talk into the mic. There are a few nuggets here and there, but not enough to warrant buying the album. Download this one and skip on paying for it.

Standout Tracks: Priceless (My Favorite), Hand-Me-Downs, Keys, and The Cool Thing To Do