Ritchcraft – “The Big Band Blueprint” (Mixtape Review)

Ritchcraft has a Twitter account by the way... check him out at Twitter.com/Ritchcraft

One of the things that is bound to happen when artists release acapella versions of their albums is the threat of horrible, unoriginal remixes. A few DJs in the South (that I will not name) thought it would be a great idea to take Jay-Z’s “Black Album” acapellas and mix them with simple Southern beats, but the mixing was horrible, and the vocals didn’t sync up with the beat, so that didn’t go so well. Anyone can take a vocal and mix it with an already-established instrumental, but to hear an album and have a completely original way to repackage the idea? Not a lot of people can do that, and not a lot of people can do this effectively.

So when I heard of Ritchcraft’s “The Big Band Blueprint” and the concept of it – add a big band jazz-like feel to Jay-Z’s classic LP “The Blueprint” – I started to get a little interested. After he finally dropped the mixtape (which took way too long, but whatever, lol), I got my chance to listen to one of the more original ideas I’ve heard…

The Good:

I’ve hinted on this in the intro, but the originality factor in “B3” is nice. From the intro that welcomes you to B3, from the complete Big Band Jazz feel that permeates each track (for better or worse), from the re-imagined hook/melody on “Never Change”,  you never lose that original feel for the project. The production is almost strictly big band/jazz, so if you’re looking for something else… go listen to something else, because this is not it.

Also, Sylvia Usher sounds right at home on the songs she’s featured in. As the host/voice of the project (more or less), she completely adds and magnifies the vibe of B3.

The Bad:

The problem that mixtapes and projects like this face are the exact same problems that most DJs face when mixing/blending music together; in that process, you have to consider the whole project and make sure it sounds good. When taking the verses, you have to make sure the verses sync up. If using the old chorus/hook, you have to make sure the melody from the vocals match with the tune of the instrumental you’re placing it on or re-imagine the hook completely.

In B3’s case, it does well for MOST of the playing time… but there’s still some spots that seems like it just didn’t sync right or that the melody of the acapella hook didn’t match with the instrumentals, and those moments really hinder this from being a smooth ride. The perfect example of this is “Jigga That N*gga”. The production is great, and the verses sync up perfect and a majority of the hook works too…until the girls sing their traditional “Jigga, Jigga” call, and it just doesn’t work in that instance…

I almost wish he would’ve re-imagined each hook, kind of how he did with “Never Change” and “U Don’t Know”. I think he was on to something with that…

Bottom Line:

Regardless of its few shortcomings, there’s nothing here to discourage me from NOT recommending Ritchcraft’s “Big Band Blueprint”. It’s a completely original idea that’s executed pretty well, and it’s definitely something different than the other traditional “beat-switch” remixes you hear to Jay-Z acapellas (check how different the vibe to “Momma Loves Me” sounds compared to the original. That’s dope). The songs that are done well are amazing, and still on my iPod. There’s definitely some gems on this. Definitely check this one out for yourself, because you might end up enjoying it like I do.

Eljay’s Favorites:

• “Never Change” feat. Sylvia Usher
• “Heart Of The City”
• “All I Need”
• “Girls, Girls, Girls”