Eyedea & Abilities - By the Throat

Released: July 21, 2009

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Eyedea & Abilities is a group that I think I always knew was there, but I never gave them much attention before this year.  They’ve been running the same circuits as the rest of the Rhymesayers label for what seems like forever, and Eyedea has made quite a name on his own for his performances at events like Scribble Jam, but I just never made the effort to actually listen to them much.

I knew they were onto something when I saw fliers for this album going up around campus, though, and was stepping on them by the dozens at this year’s Soundset festival, hosted by Rhymesayers itself.  When I saw a live performance for Intermedia Arts go up on YouTube, I thought I’d try it out.

A few days later, I was taking drives just to listen to the album.

A friend of mine told me a story about an Eyedea & Abilities show he saw in Madison, Wisconsin.  Eyedea (real name Mike Larsen) came up to the microphone, picked it up, and looked around nervously before leaning close and muttering, “Uh. . .hi.  My name’s Eyedea. . .and I make a lot of money.  But. . .I don’t really care.”

It was a good introduction to the group – not too forceful, but not too quiet, just like the music.

I respect independent hip-hop artists moreso than those in the mainstream because I feel like they really have to say something, not just mumble to themselves and let the beats sell the albums.  E&A, to put it lightly, is good at that.  On the opening track, Hay Fever, Larsen (Eyedea’s given name) immediately proves that he can tell stories with the best of them.  His presence as both an individual and part of the whole is evident.

The quality of the tracks, too, shows a dedication often lost in cookie-cutter Top 40’s music.  Eyedea lacks nothing as a performer (I had the chance to see the group open for Atmosphere this September) nor as a recording artist.  DJ Abilities (real name Gregory Keltgen) is at his side with beats that showcase talent; they don’t just support the lyrics.  He could produce songs that make a car shake, sure, but he’s made the clear choice to put together instrumental backings that stand out on their own and supplement the focal point of the tracks without getting lost behind it.  At about the two-minute mark on Spin Cycle there’s a breakdown that’s nothing short of a solo.

The two come together masterfully, sure, but there’s also an interesting disconnect between the elements.  The album feels like two halves coming together without quite fitting, but it doesn’t detract.  Eyedea’s scratchy, sore-throated rhymes are their own works; Abilities’ beats are sometimes ugly (in the best way), other times wonderful, and hold their own; when they come together, you can really hear that they don’t necessarily need each other, but there’s a good reason they’re together.  The two aren’t butting heads by any means. I think the sound – which, working in reverse over E&A’s releases, is fairly new – is nearly perfect, and neither head is going to be ignored.

Speaking of the sound, I know that Eyedea & Abilities is primarily a hip-hop outfit, but there are other elements at play and I’m excited to hear them every time.  There are moments of guitars, others of bass and basses, and often there are refrains to the songs, something to bring the listener back to understanding that these are songs, not just rants.  With so many god-complex emcees with almost too much to say, it’s good to have a break in the action, so to speak.  Another track I previewed, Burn Fetish, catches this idea spot-on.

This release is well timed, too, which I haven’t noticed about a lot of others.  It’s not too long, as a lot of hip-hop releases can feel around track 16, but it’s not too short as to leave the listener feeling cheated.  I picked this disc up for about ten bucks, and I was proud to have paid that.

I have only good things to say about Eyedea & Abilities this year.  They’re excellent performers, a charismatic team, and a joy to be able to sort of associate myself with, being a Twin Cities resident and all.  It’s good to see them getting wider distribution, too, through deals with places like Target, and to see Rhymesayers coming into prominence for the independent arts outlet it is.

These two have a long history behind them and a lot future ahead of them.  Let’s home they never take themselves any more or less seriously than they did in 2009.

Cheers.

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