Thesselonious "...while I was curling my blunt"

21 tracks, all beats, coming in at just under 70 minutes. Damn that is a whole lot of instrumental hip hop. Those were the first thoughts I had when checking out "...while I was curling my blunt," and that is true, it is a lot of music to digest, especially since Thesselonious created music you actually have to pay attention to (which is a good thing.) Now if you thought, well this is just music to smoke to and/or it is just going to be another Madlib wanna be making beats...you would be horribly wrong on both accords. Yes, you could smoke to this (you can smoke to anything) but it isn't necessary (as I have said before I don't smoke.) While the vocal samples on a few tracks to reference marijuana it isn't a pervasive theme. What this album is instead is 21 full tracks of instrumental hip hop that any fan of the genre (and really music in general) can put the headphones on and enjoy (especially if you are a fan of hard hitting drums, as Thesselonious is a "drum snob.") I debated if I should do a track by track on this album because of how many beats there are, but I figured why the hell not, even if some only get a sentence or so might as well touch base on each, so here we go.

Like I said, there are not many tracks to carry marijuana as their central theme, "Smoking Bowls Atop The Sears Tower" is, as you can probably guess, one of those that does. From the sound of a joint being burned in the intro (which continues throughout) to the dialogue of the legalization of majiuana that is played over top the beat, pot is very important to this track, which makes one think this will continue throughout (HA.) The actual beat is drum heavy (of course) with a few guitar chords played at intervals with some great scratches in between. Musically this track sets the ground work for the album, heavy drums with other instruments layered on top.

If you could imagine someone running away clumsily from a killer in a slasher film you would have the drums on "RUN!!!" At first it sounds awkward but as the beat continues and choir sound and piano are placed throughout, you realize just how well these drums actually work. Thesselonious shows us (to paraphrase Miles Davis) that a note or rhythm isn't right or wrong until you play the next note or melody, in other words he has created a great improvisational sounding beat, making the case (that most hip hop heads already know) that instrumental hip hop is music and a great art form that needs to be respected by the entire community.

The uptempo, horn fueled "Fair-ah Tales" takes aim at both fair weather friends and studio gangsters. But once again the drums shine on this track (a common theme) but the horns come in a close second. "Quarto" is one of the more unusual tracks on the album, featuring more of a bongo style drums, and synths with a harp. But just in case you are feeling lost, Thesselonious adds some scratches because damn it we need more music with harps and scratches.

The heavy and lazy bass drum of "I've Been Hallucinating (Sha La La)" along with finger snaps, organs and some other crazy sound make this track rather disorienting and creates a feeling similar to if (prepare yourself) you were hallucinating. "I Can Be Cool" shows the soul side of Thesselonious, with a great sampled hook over solid drums. Just as you begin to relax "Sugar Mama" gets you moving with an afrobeat rhythm that would make Fela very proud. Horns blaring proudly over African drums create an infectious rhythm (I know of no one who would choose this as a song to curl a blunt to.) Prepare to put this on repeat.

JillzWorth co-produces the next track "Feel So High." Now I do not fully understand how someone co-produces a track (my ignorance I know) but judging by this it almost feels as if Thesselonious created a simple beat and JillzWorth played around with it and took it to a whole different place (or vice-versa) whatever it is, it works out great. Piano, drums, and horns create "The Rain In Spain," a track that could be played next to an Irving Berlin tune and not seem out of place. In a rather haunting track (maybe it is just me feeling it could be in the OG Halloween) "Time" gives the listener as much as they can handle, with drums, horns, vocals, whistles and pianos, all coming and going, creating some incredible orchestral moments, as well as some slight instances of silence. Another instance of Thesselonious showing just what he can do with his music.

About halfway through the album, I feel I need to take a break, not because I am not enjoying the music (I am loving it) there is just so much to digest in this album, and this is my only real critique of it, it may be too many tracks for listeners to fully grasp (21 tracks is A LOT of ideas for someone's mind.) So I shall grab myself a drink and continue because we have some more great music ahead.

And we are back...

I wonder if I become persuaded by the name of a track sometimes. Do I hear stuff that isn't really there because of that? "Babylon 5" is why I am asking this question. I hear Babylon 5 and I think space, and Thesselonious creates a beat that gives me that feeling because of the whirly sound (descriptive huh) that exists in the background of this beat, gives me the sensation of traveling through the universe. This is one of the few tracks without heavy drums which is why "Phoenix Uprising" hits so hard. After the lull of "Babylon 5" the drums of "Phoenix Uprising" sound like they are going to break my headphones, beautiful contrast. But don't think this is just a heavy drum beat, there is a segment that features a sitar and finger cymbals, followed by a section of throat singing and radio tuning (ok both sounds are probably created by playing with the frequency but I like my description better.)

Oddly "Unpleasant Piano" only features a piano for a small section of the track, but instead uses a gentle drum and harp to help move the beat alone, before the piano shines for a few moments periodically throughout the beat. Guitars, Guitars and Guitars and drums describe "CoCo." I think I added enough guitars...each one is different, instead of using a wide array of family of instruments, Thesselonious uses varieties of the same one to create a funky, reggae feeling track. A steady drum beat with layers of bongos,piano, and strings give the feeling of searching within oneself on "Self Awareness (Don't Forget)," although the vocal sampled played over top is rather annoying, great words, annoying voice.

If there was a smooth R and B track on "...while I was curling my blunt," "Larlene (Elephant Redux)" would be that track. A few gentle strums of the guitar, backed by some great drum claps and angelic voice give that sort of feel. Thesselonious keeps the paced chilled with "100 Points (Do Your Math)" a Spanish guitar featured beat that breaks down the math of record labels.

We are introduced to a new superhero "Ghetto Man!!! (v 2.0)" whose theme song captures soul, funk, and rock in one 4 minute beat. The drums on this track, push the limits of my headphones (damn good ones) giving a bit of distortion. In stark contrast, the rather clean "My Ganja Weighs A Ton" gives us a Latin style rhythm, accompanied by drums, horns, and a metal pipe. The album begins to wind down with the rather minimalistic "Brash (Gettin' Small)" which features some drums, Spanish guitar, and electric piano, but it almost feels like these instruments each play at their own time and never overlap. The final track "Let The Light" brings a dance club rhythm that appears for the first time on this album. Even after 21 songs, Thesselonious brings something different to the table.

Yes the album is 21 tracks of instrumental hip hop coming it at just under 70 minutes. Yes there is a lot of music and ideas for the listener to consume and understand. Yes you may need a break because you do not want to miss any of the intricacies on this album. But this isn't an album that is laden with fillers, all the music is quality. But most importantly what Thesselonious did with "...while I was curling my blunt" was show just what can be done in the arena of instrumental hip hop, he created great music.

Check out the album when it drops on February 14th here