Bleubird

Bleubird, Orlando-based nomadic emcee, blogger, and all around gypsy provocateur has just released his first solo LP in a couple of years, CANNONBALL. This in no way implies that ole Freeebird ain't been busy. Dude is all over the place, from his constant street journaling to collabs and videos with Sole and K-the-I. This release comes to us from those ever eclectic tastemakers over at Fake Four, Inc. It was produced by a dream team of Astronautalis and Radical Face. Radical Face has been credited with taking Astro's music to the next level, and his contributions here resulted in Bleubird having a record he can call a labor of love. That love has paid off with an intimate, heartfelt record. CANNONBALL should be considered an achievement for an otherwise accomplished veteran. Chalk this one up as a win for the good guys!

CANNONBALL starts out with urgency, a distorted radio frequency and an almost evangelical Bird delivering a blistering sermon of blood and ink. It's immediately clear this one isn't going to be on some swagged-out, funny-haha shit. The infectious diatribe had me nodding and making that ohhhh-face. I don't know personally but this record feels like it was cathartic. This Bleubird is getting years of frustration off his chest. And while going through a process like that is bound to bring pain, anger, anxiety, self-doubt, Bleu stays triumphant. A certain bird rising from the ashes comes to mind.

Pardon this tangent, but trust I have a point. I was watching a Bobby Flay bio on the Biography channel today. I know, I know, shut up! But he described this moment when he had done it. When everybody thought he wouldn't amount to anything but a miscreant, insolent brat, he proved everybody wrong. On the surface, Bleubird doesn't strike you immediately as a dope emcee, like you wouldn't probably guess it by looking at him. But even with the serious rap chops we've become accustomed to on display, this record is about something more than rapping for rap's sake. It could be Fake Four's motto! It's coming to terms with the shortfalls that have little to do with the dexterity of the tongue. This is the moment Bleubird proves everybody wrong. I don't want to get too hyperbolic, but that shit must feel great!

Astronautalis and Radical Face's production is smooth, complimentary, reliant on strings and synths and minimal drums. I think this album is at its best right there. There are a few bass-driven bangers to make sure, as Lauryn Hill would say, "you ignant n***ers here me" But overall, CANNONBALL rises and falls like tides - crescendos of introspection peppered with humor and self-deprecation. It reminds me of the hard consideration I used to put into making mixed tapes for misplaced infatuations: start strong, get smart, share emotions, bring the fucking party back, leave 'em wanting more.

CANNONBALL is a little all over the place but manages to build a cohesion that makes sense if you are aware of Bleubird's incessant traveling and all around road warrior-ness. I love the interspersed insanity… like "Black Sandcastles" proclamation of, "I miss the ocean!!!" I would seriously rock an ironic Black Sandcastles T-shirt swag, and I'd rock it hard too! It has that longing but with that cheekiness we have all come to love. Family plays a big role in terms of theme with "Giehe" and "Hand Holdin". Bleubird even tried his chops at singing, and while not technically precise, he hits with sincerity. "Christian Wife" is a "white classic" by the Louvin Brothers both reworked and fun. It's silly but real. The award for song that I listened to twice back to back goes to the "Hello Hallow" accompanied by label mate and fellow storyteller Astronautalis. It's a end of relationship treatise claiming "it took me until I was almost out the tunnel until I decided I wouldn't cry for you." CANNONBALL isn't perfect, but there are enough brilliant moments to keep me listening again and again.

As a collaborator with Astronautalis, as Boyfriend Inc., Prinzenallee with Jayrope in Berlin, and Triune Gods from Japan, Bleubird isn't like any other artist in the game right now. In terms of eclectic taste, talent, sensibility, and all around good nature, it seems that Bleu is poised to really make something out of CANNONBALL. From the looks of it, it couldn't be happening to a nicer dude too. I sincerely hope it's from out the ash with handfuls of cash! And for what it's worth he has my support.