The song "My Culture," found on Blueprint's highly recommended new album Adventures In Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers Entertainment), is one of the most accurately biting commentaries on the state of hip-hop culture today. In it, the ever-observant Columbus, Ohio producer & emcee shoots off lines at today's stereotypical rappers who "sound like broads rhymin' bout the clothes you got," warning them to "look around you. We livin' in some troublin' times"  and then rightfully observing, "So when those rappers only rap about a home or a broad [it's] coz they don't know what's happening at home or abroad."

"My Culture" is just one of the fifteen great tracks from Counter-Culture, the acclaimed artist's long overdue follow up to his last solo outing, 2005's 1988. But Blueprint, who plays Berkeley's Greek Theater tonight and Amoeba Berkeley tomorrow afternoon, May 8th, at 3pm, has been far from idle. The artist born Albert Shepard is an integral part of the Columbus music scene. As well as being signed to Rhymesayers, he is also the founder and owner of Weightless Recordings. And in addition to being an accomplished solo artist, he is also one half of the group Soul Position with producer RJD2. Additionally, he is one half of the group Greenhouse Effect alon with Illogic. Last week, when Blueprint was in New York as part of the Atmosphere-headlined Family Tour, I met up with him in a cafe to ask him about his many projects, the new album, what to expect at tomorrow's Amoeba Berkeley instore and his views on the state of the USA today. Amoeba Berkeley's E-Lit contributed some questions to this Amoeblog interview and also supplied his personal favorite Blueprint top five track list in chronological order, which appears at the end of this post.

Amoeblog: Do you think that the state of politics in 2011 is worse than ever or is it just the same ole shit? And what do you think lies ahead?

Blueprint: I think it's even worse than people say it is. And I think it's headed to an irreversible place where the United States status in the world is never going to be what it once was. I think it's already starting to head that way. I had a joke yesterday. Me and RJD2 had lunch and we were talking about America. We went out and saw some documentary on America and I said, 'Man, America is the best and worst country on earth right now. Of all the countries that are supposed to be great, and have these crazy ideologies and people want to go there and [there is] opportunity and how they phrase it, this is the worst one right now coz all of the things we say we are, we are not becoming that anymore. We are going to a place where corporate America pretty much controls things. People don't.

The people in Congress really don't have their own say. Their agenda is the corporate agenda which goes against the normal person's agenda. And so decisions are made based on that, that are becoming irreversible via financial decisions. The bank bailout was a good example. All of the people saying, 'No we shouldn't bail them out.' Side deals are being cut behind closed doors and they bail them out. People talk about how America is in debt and we have no money and they try to tell you that you can save that [money] with a tax cut. But the truth is not that we need tax cuts but [rather] we need the people who actually should be paying taxes -- like these multi-bilion dollar corporations -- to pay taxes. Like, if they kicked in their fair share the pressure wouldn't be on people like us to bust our asses and be worried about this kind of shit. They would rather wage war on teachers, unions, schools, and cut things. They'd rather cut than ask someone to kick in who should be kicking in. And it would be different if these corporations were struggling but they're making record profits on our backs. And I think that is going to be impossible to change unless we change how we view politics and our involvement in it.

Amoeblog: Are you fully satisfied with how Adventures in Counter-Culture turned out or do you think -- mmm, maybe I could go back in and tweak that song a bit or edit out and add in something here or there?

Blueprint: No. Definitely. Very happy with the way it came out. I put in a lot of work, a lot of years, on it. I just wanted it to be something that had replay value and that I could say that I did everything. And I know I threw everything I had at it so I'm happy with it.

Amoeblog: I like the diversity of styles and sounds that you, as a producer, explored on the album. How did you gain such a broad knowledge of so many genres?

Blueprint: Well, first it came out of an appreciation for music and being a producer too. Most hip-hop producers are record collectors and my love of records in general -- I probably have about 5000 records -- and so [I am] able to sit around and listen to music for hours a day of various genres. So while I was listening for samples I think that opened me up to all types of music. Also I did college radio back in the day. Before I was really rhyming I was DJing a college radio hip-hop show 10pm to 2am on a Friday night and on weekends I would DJ parties -- house parties and fraternity parties. And that kind of opened me up to record collecting, and that got me into jazz, rock, and every other genre and gave me an appreciation of all genres and made me want to always include all of those things. And I think as we've gotten to the iPod era fans too have gotten more diverse in what they listen to. And I thought, then why aren't we showcasing this diversity, and so I kind of had the idea to start including more genres.

        

Amoeblog: You address your place as an artist outside the commercial sphere in your new album song "Radio Inactive." But does being outside the mainstream, especially not being on a major label, give you a certain sense of freedom and creativity that you would enjoy if you were a top 40 pop rapper?

Blueprint: Oh, definitely. I don't know if I could be successful in a situation where I had to worry about radio spins or making something that was commercially viable. Although I am capable of writing things that can be catchy or good songs, I don't necessarily think I am commercially viable as defined by mainstream radio. But the fact that I am on a label that just wants me to be the best that I can -- that is the most powerful thing because they [Rhymesayers] are like, 'Where you are taking it is really interesting, so keep taking it there,' as I was working on the record. And that was so much more encouraging. They're not into having an artist with a hit record who disappears. They want to build careers. And they are extremely supportive and they just want you to follow your progression as an artist. It's about artist development, like they used to do way back in the day, like Motown used to do. They were like, 'OK, Print, we know you are a talented artist. You can do all these things but what you are hitting on with all this adventurous stuff is something you've never done and we want you to not even be worried about sales or release dates or even being broke during the four or five years it takes you to make this. We want you to just worry about making art, making music, and when you come out with it we are behind you.' And that's what encouraged me the most.

Amoeblog: Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, an area where it seems artists tend to be adventurous unique, is it nice to have the support of like minded individuals and might your artistic development have been the same had you lived in LA or New York?

Blueprint: I don't know. I'm not sure. There's definitely huge benefits of living in Columbus, OH. I think there was a time in the scene where, yeah, it was a huge collective thing and all of us were, like, being different is great. We never worried about sounding like the MHz (MegaHertz) or RJD2 but we had a camradarie about us. But we were in a market that was small enough where we could make a dent and a real impact. I don't know if we would have had that sense of community if we had been in a bigger market. But I think being in the Midwest, and being in a market like Columbus, [it] is a major city with a million plus people but it's not like New York where you can easily get caught up in so many other things and get lost. We were identified as leaders of the hip-hop community early on and we were able to keep doing it.

        

Amoeblog: "Keep Bouncing" is a humorous first person look at when you're drunk -- and it is pretty public that you have gone from drinking, including during shows, to being completely sober -- so was recording that song a kind of catharsis for you?

Blueprint: Well, when I recorded that I actually never envisioned myself quitting. At the time I was like, "Ya know, I'm gonna try and summarize all shit that happens in my head when I'm drinking that I think but I don't really say and I want to write it in a way that seems stream of consciousness just to kind of summarize this experience." Now when I listen to it, it really reminds me of exactly that feeling, which I guess is kind of good coz it keeps me from wanting to return to that, whereas if I had not recorded that song I might have rose colored glasses on or I might think that it's cool for me to do it again when it's really not. For other people it could be cool, but for me, I don't really need that to get to where I want to go as an artist.

Amoeblog: You have said in previous interviews that you started drinking before going onstage a long time ago when you first began touring with Atmosphere. So how has the experience been now not drinking and what (if anything) do you do to replace that?

Blueprint: Now it's actually a little better because it's more like I've learned to cope with the anxiety in a different way or at least I know what my anxieties are. I think my anxiety before was lack of preparation, playing in front of big crowds, worrying about whether everyone gets it or understands what you're doing, and being relaxed enough to be yourself onstage. Now I feel like when I'm prepared I'm able to do all of those things without anxiety. But when I'm not prepared that's when I start worrying about things like, 'Aw man, am I gonna get the first time? Am I gonna get my cues? Is he gonna get his cues?' But when we practice and are at our best I don't worry about any of those things at all. So now it's a completely different experience. This is my second tour with them that I've been sober and it gets easier every time.

      

Amoeblog: It’s been said that you’ve put the Greenhouse Effect project with Illogic on hiatus to focus on promoting your solo career, but is there still hope that Bend But Don't Break will see the light of day?

Blueprint: Oh yeah, yeah, it's gonna come out. But I think what we're probably gonna do is, well we were tempted to put out Electric Purgatory Part Three and then Bend But Don't Break this winter but then "Radio-Inactive" came out in December and it was getting so much attention that I didn't want to take any eyes off of that and put out something else. This winter I don't know what's going to happen. I probably won't be touring. I'll probably be doing music non-stop, so this winter I think I'd like to put out the third EP (Electric Purgatory) and Bend But Don't Break. And the good thing about those is that they are pretty much done and just need some post-production.

Amoeblog: So what are some of the benefits of being sober?

Blueprint: It's less expensive, easier on the pockets. [laughs]

Amoeblog: Who are some of the MCs or producers you would like to work with?

Blueprint: Well, as far as producer I'd like to learn from the guy who does Portishead's production,  Adrian Utley. That guy, I would just like to be his understudy.


1) “Holding Tank” (from Greenhouse Effect’s Up to Speed EP 1999)

2) “Alchemy” (from Aesop Rock’s Daylight EP 2002)

3) “No Excuse for Lovin” (from Soul Position’s 8 Million Stories 2003)

4) “Big Girls Need Love Too” (from Blueprint’s 1988 2005)

5) “Stole Our Yesterday” (from Blueprint’s Adventures in Counter-Culture 2011)


Amoeblog: On the new album track “The Clouds,” you mention the passing of several Columbus icons within a year. Did their passing have an effect on the direction that your music has taken?

Blueprint: Oh, definitely, and for different reasons, too, like Camu Tao from MHz; his passing, it was big in a sense that he was my age. We came up together and ran in similar circles; seeing his friends hurt, seeing the Def Jux guys and that pain, going through that, seeing him go from being six foot three and 225 to 6' 3' and 150 lbs was something that you would never really imagine. And knowing that his work wasn't completed until after he passed and people had to put it together -- and that puts a different kind of urgency when you are trying to create something that may be your best work. You look at it differently, like, 'Man, what if this is my last album?' I don't want someone else to assemble it. I have to have an urgency in getting this music done and there is no excuse for me.

And with DJ Przm passing, that was like Illogic's first touring DJ; he's been our dude and he brought so many people together in the scene, that him passing was fresh and inspiring in a way because he was only supposed to live until he was 21. He was born with a defective heart but he lived until he was like 35. And the energy of what Przm was to the Columbus scene was amazing because he was the kind of dude who, if he came to a show and it wasn't dope, he would get on the mic. He would just take over rap shows that weren't his shows and so we kind of had that mentality back then -- me, him, and Illogic -- that we would just go and he was fun, he would make me not take myself as seriously.

So that was him and then [there was] this other guy, a guy named Daymon Dodson. Daymon Dodson was this icon who didn't even make music but he was like the most popular guy in the rock scene and the hip-hop scene and he didn't play any instruments. All he did was, he was like a social guy who brought both scenes together and so everyone knew everyone because of him. He was the guy who started all the hip-hop guys playing with rock guys and we started playing shows together and the scenes got bigger and bigger because of one guy, Daymon Dodson. So his passing inspired me in asking myself, Are you bringing people together? Are you being a bridge that provides development in your scene? So that affected me. He died very young and from an epileptic seizure. He was like 32 and he was the most popular dude in our music scene, more than any rapper or any rock guy. All three were different but they all inspired me in different ways.

Amoeblog: What can people expect at your Amoeba instore May 8th (Mother's Day) and how many songs do you think you'll do?

Blueprint: I'm gonna try to sneak in as much as possible. I have different versions of songs -- some shorter, some longer -- and so I am going to try and sneak in some different versions of songs that I may not get to do at the [Greek Theatre] show with Atmosphere because I just have 30 minutes there, so it's tight to sneak in stuff there but at Amoeba I can probably do anything I want, so I am going to do at least five or six songs. I'm hoping to play 25, 30 minutes.