Music, like most forms of art, can always benefit from something different. This holds particularly true to Hip-Hop where most new albums feel like a rehash of what everyone has already heard before. However, in 2010 listeners were exposed to “Substantial and Marcus D are Bob Alloy”, the first studio release from the duo of the same name. Combining jazzy beats with solid rhymes this duo will definitely be someone to pay attention to.
Like other groups Bob Alloy follows the one producer one MC combo which Marcus D says, “…allows the project to be extremely cohesive and I think fans will enjoy the fact that there’s one distinct sound throughout the album.” Behind the microphone is Substantial, a Baltimore rapper who got his start in music with a Japanese producer before returning to the states to work with QN5 Music. Marcus D, from Seattle, represents the producing side with Bob Alloy being his second formal project. According to a interview with flawlesshustle.com Marcus D says they connected after networking on Myspace over a track for one of Marcus D’s albums. “After that, I just kept sending beats because of how well the track had turned out. Sub kept sending me back my beats with lyrics over them and after we had about four or five tracks, we decided to start working towards a project.”
The album itself flows together well with a mellow sound and classy beats to match. But, what really sets the release and the group apart from the rest is the feeling that this is from two real people making good music without regarding current trends and popular appeal. Marcus makes this point in the interview, “It’d be nice to hear this project on mainstream radio, but that’s not what we set out to do.” Substantial also adds, “I think some artists are able to keep their integrity and make a mark on the charts but the other issue is that companies are usually hesitant to push it the same way because they don’t think it can see pop success.”
As far as individual songs go in the album I was particularly impressed with “Another Day In The Life”, “Save The Day”, and “Still Think Different”. But, I would like to add that the whole album is fantastic to listen to in its entirety and I would highly recommend it. I would also suggest to keep an eye of for Bob Alloy as the duo says they plan to make more music under the name of Bob Alloy but no formal projects are in the works.
Album Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Bop Alloy | Another Day in the Life
