Whenever the two biggest names in underground hip-hop join forces to unite their larger-than-life personalities, one can only imagine the matchless and incomparable style of music that lies ahead. Minneapolis’s Slug, one-half of praised independent hip-hop group Atmosphere, and Los Angeles’s Murs, member of the California-based rap collective Living Legends, have always delivered buoyant, fun-loving albums under the lively duo Felt.

Preview: Felt – Protagonists

Following their spirited tributes to Christina Ricci and Lisa Bonnet, Felt readily returns with their first album in over four years – this time a tribute to lovely Rosie Perez. Backed by the production from critically-acclaimed Long Island MC Aesop Rock, Slug and Murs drastically amend the consistent Felt formula for an eerie, menacing ambience that simply drains the life out of what Felt does best.

Felt – A Tribute To Rosie Perez

Dark
Unlike the bright and sometimes soulful vibe found on the duo’s first and second efforts, provided by The Grouch and Ant, respectively, Aesop Rock’s beats immediately set a dark, long-lasting tone throughout the entire album. The way Aesop approached this third Felt project can be summarized rather simply: throbbing drum patterns, rigorous bass lines, and steep electric guitars. Although this unexpected change-of-pace allows both Slug and Murs to tackle more cultivating subject matters, the ominous mood progressively becomes mundane and unvarying too quickly on the 21-track LP.

Thoughts
Despite the lack of diversity behind the boards, Slug and Murs once again showcase why they are respected, well-deserving veterans in the world of hip-hop. Don’t expect to hear unprecedented lyrical massacre on “Felt 3” because, quite frankly, that’s never what Slug and Murs try to do on Felt records anyway. Instead, they fluidly feed off of each other’s peculiar train-of-thoughts to construct interesting songs that vividly engage listeners, and this album is no different.

Dynamic
Slug and Murs undoubtedly shine the brightest when they perform dynamic, colorful storytelling that transcends songwriting in hip-hop. Tracks like “Permanent Standby,” “Ghost Dance Deluxe,” arguably the album’s best track, and “G.I. Josephine” all illustrate three different females with compelling personas that listeners can envision perfectly. Of course, Slug and Murs also take time to rap about, well, rapping, and rightfully so. “Revisiting the Styleetron” finds the two rappers exchanging lines about the enduring experiences they encounter on tour over a mean snare and spacey sound effects while “Deathmurdermayhem” is a tormenting statement to all the misguided doubters.

Chemistry
Due to Aesop Rock’s distinct approach, the overall impression of “Felt 3” may be viewed as an unfavorable new direction for Slug and Murs, or it can be acknowledged as another intriguing dimension to the duo’s innate chemistry. I lean more towards the latter. Coming in at almost 70 minutes long, the album’s unchanging personality ended up being its ultimate downfall as a number of sub-par songs could have been left off the project (“Like You” and “She Sonnet”) along with the album’s four “mini-tracks,” all under two minutes long. Nevertheless, “Felt 3” is another solid effort put forth by a pair of relentless MCs whose fire and hunger aren’t going away anytime soon.

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Rating: 7/10
Words by: Jordan Hung
More info: Felt