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My ongoing love affair with Sean Daley, aka Slug, aka Seven, aka the vocal half of underground hip hop darling Atmosphere, has been pretty well documented on this blog. The rest of my experience with Slug can be found buried in public records. That restraining order doesn’t stop me from listening to the music, Sean — shoulda thought of that!

Anyway, like so many rap wunderkinds, Slug has dabbled with as many side projects as substances… which can have addictive results — for both him and his listeners, depending on which half of that comparison you’re talking about. Such is the case with Felt, Slug’s ongoing collaboration with Murs of Living Legends, who’s not too shabby at putting together a good 16 either.

Murs and Slug - photo via urchicago.com

To date, the duo have released three separate albums, each featuring a different producer stirring their own distinct mixture of loops and instrumentals into the brew. This keeps things fresh, by occasionally forcing the emcees out of their comfort zone, and simply by hearing them rap over beats that may be atypical of their usual style. Felt’s first album was produced by The Grouch (of Living Legends), their second album was produced by Ant (of Atmosphere), and their third album was produced by Aesop Rock (of… himself), so each release has an individual sound, which makes them a lot like Lucky Charms or Pokemon — a golden recommendation I dare any critic to best.

Each album has been named after a different female actress (Christina Ricci, Lisa Bonet & Rosie Perez) and each features two songs named after other celebrities (Suzanne Vega, Rick James, Morris Day, Marvin Gaye, Kevin Spacey & Paul Reubens). I have to imagine this is intentional, if only because a coincidence of that magnitude would split my brain in half almost immediately.

Originally, the title of the first album was decided based on a wager between the two rappers over who could sleep with Christina Ricci first — to date, neither has been successful. Which, I suppose, is why they move on to new actresses every couple years. Like Rosie Perez for example… who you may know as that “adorable little cop” from Pineapple Express:

To be clear, the only real reason I posted that clip was for the two seconds when Rosie Perez shoots the hapless bystander in the arm. That’s what you get for wearing an over-sized windbreaker, dickbag!

I’ll leave you with one last track, from The Hood Internet’s recent mash-up album of Felt 3 and Tobacco’s latest journey into the realm of psychedelic indie rock, Maniac Meat. Thanks to the mind-bending beats, the 5 track EP is pretty much complete insanity and boy, does it ever have its hooks in me.

That was a music pun, I don’t know if you guys got that or not, what with the super obvious italics all up in your face. But I couldn’t bear to see it go to waste in case you’re less of a nerd than I am.