RP Boo: I'll Tell You What! on 2 LPs

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RP Boo's music doesn't follow the traditional rules that most compositions do. Layering decades of samples from yesteryear to the present over his commanding vocal cut-ups, he transports the listener to their own realm of the space-time continuum. The main difference between this record and his prior work is now we hear Boo tell new stories about preaching his gospel outside of Chicago, from his experiences touring the globe over the last five years.

The words »things ain't been the same / since I hopped th e plane« are repeated on top of engine sounds and rumbling bass on Flight 1235. On At War Boo reminds us »we are at war in the streets«, a double meaning to both the mayhem in this world and the sweetness of rivalry on the dance floor. Another battle-themed track Cloudy Back Yard, one of the spacier moments on this album, is an abstract on the state of footwork's home. I'll Tell You What! throws more than a few curveballs into the mix. Footwork has always borrowed from hip-hop, and many vocal tracks are almost condensed raps. On Bounty, Boo grabs the mic and brazenly lays down a full-on verse of terror over a thick atmosphere of his signature sweltering low-end and erratic Roland R-70 patterns.

While he's most famous for his confrontational battle anthems, his melancholy moments are just as powerful. You get the best of both of those worlds on U-Don't No, with soulful samples finishing his own cocky sentences, one of the most elegant tracks RP has made to date. Deep Sole closes the record out, with the words »It's always beautiful at the end« looping over waves of hypnotic synthesis, confidently looking death straight in the eyes.