Slug & Murs: Felt 3 – A Tribute to Rosie Perez

Sean likes ugly girls and most underground rap sucks. At least that’s what the duo’s names suggest. However, after modeling the previous two albums after Christina Ricci and Lisa Bonet and delivering such great product, it’s obvious that both names are false. With this third project, A Tribute to Rosie Perez, it is once again prevalent that the names couldn’t be more wrong. After all, Rosie Perez is far from ugly and “underground” rap, in this case, certainly doesn’t suck. But, like all Felt albums, there’s a necessary third wheel to help form the perfect tricycle, the producer. Felt 1 had The Grouch (associate of Murs) and Felt 2 had Ant (lifelong Atmosphere member with Slug), so having Aesop Rock in for Felt 3 provided the perfect middle ground for both emcees to designate a neutral source in for production. However, after delivering two very good projects, the duo + 1 deliver a project so difficult to listen to and monotonous in nature that one can’t help but ponder what they (the listener) may be missing. The end result is simply an album that is remarkably unsettling, and since the lyricism and emceeing is as on point as ever, it is only appropriate to look at the production as the one big flaw.

The bar is set extremely high for the other 20 songs as soon as the album kicks in with its bonafide star, “Protagonists.” You get the best of Aesop’s hard hitting base and timing, as well as Slug and Murs trash-talking like it’s a habit. “Who made you wanna rap/ and be independent?/ it’s Felt motherf*ckers if you want it come and get it” chimes Murs right before Slug sticks it smoothly with “Who’s this? If the new shoe fits I’ll take two kicks/ truth is, without new hits we’re all useless/ get used to it, my crew swooped through it/ like a sewer sewage unit just to produce music.” This song certainly displays everything that is well and good about Felt 3, and when it works with this formula is when Slug + Murs + Aesop all win. Similarly with “Henrietta Longbottom” and “She Sonnet,” two addictive beats from Aesop backed by wonderful emceeing of the storytelling variety from the microphone fiends. This back-and-forth is reminiscent of Phife and Tip, and throughout Felt 3 (and all of the Felt projects for that matter) it’s hard to pick a “winner.”

But at 21 tracks long, there are certain to be some faults on the project. While there isn’t one blatantly “bad track” on the LP, there are certainly a barrage that just do not satisfy the ears and settle in. “Felt Chewed Up” displays impressive flows from the two emcees, but as mentioned, just doesn’t sit right. “Whaleface” is lyrically clever, but slightly yawn-worthy and certainly nothing to write home about, the same goes for “G.I. Josephine.” And while “Felt Good” or “Deathmurdermayhem” all bang hard, there’s a particular uncomforting feeling left throughout the project; one that won’t get many listeners coming back for more.

Felt 3 as a whole doesn’t have that “Woman Tonight” or “Suzanne Vega” sweetness or quirkiness to it, both in atmosphere and production. Aesop more or less presents similar dark beats throughout the album and beats a dead horse with that notion. What would’ve been more successful? Perhaps it’s growing by not growing, as Slug says on “The Prize,” “Some people call it swagger/ I’m a little bit older, so I still call it Mojo/ it really doesn’t matter/ if you got it you get it and if you don’t then you won’t grow,” right before he delves a little bit deeper into the tremendously dope verse in that laid back I-don’t-care cadence.

Every once in a while throughout Felt 3, you’ll come across the rare occurrence of a beat and lyricism so in sync that it fulfills the Felt standard of harmony. The album’s closer “Paul Reubens” is great (and presents the Felt 4 tribute-woman) and “Bass For Your Truck” hits hard on various levels (especially in the ride), but as mentioned, this is a rare pleasantness. Frankly, little needs to be said about Slug and Murs as emcees because they are evidently dope and consistent throughout, but dare I say that they seemed more comfortable with a less neutral producer? Moreover, what made Felt 1 and Felt 2 so successful was the cohesiveness and precision presented of them, a task that is nearly impossible to fulfill with 21 tracks. With that said, the album is simply too long, too uneasy, and too unfulfilling. This by no means is a “loss” for anyone involved in this project, but it is certainly a blip in the radar.

67/100

Protagonists

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Glory Burning

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Paul Reubens

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