Felt (Murs & Slug)
Felt 3 (A Tribute to Rosie Perez)
November 17th, 2009 

 
Felt - "Protagonist" (Download)

Felt - "G.I. Josephine" (Download)

With Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez, Murs and Slug set the bar a little higher by dedicating the album to Rosie Perrez, the apple of every boy’s eye that watched Do the Right Thing or White Men Can’t Jump. The second Felt couldn’t live up to the first and neither has the third. The once Napster rappers focused more on the production, and couldn’t make the lyrics conducive, and feels like they’re rapping over a beat—a good beat—lacking any fluidity.

Felt 3 was produced by former Rhymesayers, Aesop Rock, showcasing his signature grit and hard-hitting staccato bass. The change is a departure from the sound that defined Felt in the past—humorous, light and full of soul samples—but once you accept the change, you’ll find your head nodding to the samples and reverb. The two previous albums have songs like “Dirty Girl,” something that you can sing to and contains the depth you expect from “underground” hip-hop.

That begs the question; can you even call Slug and Murs underground anymore? They flaunt that they are the reason you went independent. Really? Maybe the suburban bros who downloaded Atmosphere albums of Napster in 2000. Please Slug, can you not go the Jay-Z route on this one, and tell me how rad you are?

The album has great production that sounds new and fresh, but keeping a darker side to it. And honestly it's what holds this album together, which is a big surprise considering it’s been the opposite for most of their careers. Slug has lost his ability to rap with a subscript, and uses weak analogies. Maybe it’s because I’m no longer a depressed teenager, with constant girlfriend problems, but it’s hard to relate to Slug any more.