Producer/MC DJ Envoy experiments with further hip hop sounds and steps up his rhymes more evenly with his already fluent partner Malcolm-Jay on The Happy Unfortunate’s second release, the follow-up to Stand Up or Fall Down. Sounding best on the beginning of All I Need, Envoy made me wish he’d keep going with an entire track. The album expands on their signature chilled-out sound with funk samples on Dynamite, breakbeats on Plan B and Slick Rick cuts sounding heavily underground on Bound to Wreck. They have yet to get into a better studio for the sound quality to do justice to their vocals and production. Still, the album is more concentrated than its predecessor, with more effort put into fewer tracks. Download Be Yourself to Free Yourself for free at The Happy Unfortunate’s blog to witness The Happy Unfortunate’s smooth transition to real hip hop.

Published in Volume 64, Number 2 of The Uniter (September 10, 2009)