DJ 2Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - "Beautiful Mindz"

DJ 2Tall, Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow - A Beautiful Mind (Eclectic Breaks/Amalgam Digital 2007)

DJ 2Tall Presents Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow – Beautiful Mindz / Eclectic Breaks/Amalgam Digital

The partnership between Dudley “Declaime” Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow was inevitable. Both blossoming Stones Throw artists in early 2006, the infectious and warbling oddball crooner/rapper Perkins and the multi-talented soul-dripping songstress Muldrow, though maybe miles apart on paper, share a similar aesthetic when approaching their personal takes on music. An afro-strutting hybrid of rap, soul, funk and jazz, the pair head down the future-funk road (Sa-Ra, Platinum Pied Pipers, etc) but veer off just before losing track of that mind-blowing era in the very early 70s when butter funk and increasingly experimental spiritual jazz lived in harmony. In fact, it’s a sound I dig so much, that I devoted Audiveristy post 004 to it. My mini-essay tackled both of their then-new albums, Perkins’ Expressions (2012 A.U.) and Muldrow’s Worthnothings EP (both on Stones Throw), drew comparisons between the two similar-minded acts, and pondered on the new style they were concocting. It is incredibly fitting that since then the pair have been collaborating on an increasingly frequent basis; and they have not only released this album, Beautiful Mindz with producer/DJ 2Tall leading the way, but have another one on the horizon, The Message Uni Versa, due out September 25th on Look Records.

Though both Perkins and Muldrow have proved themselves able beat-makers in their own right with prior releases, they are limited to vocal duties on Beautiful Mindz, letting turntablist extraordinaire turned producer DJ 2Tall provide the music. A member of the UK DMC 2003 Team Championship-winning Truesicians, Jim Coles had quite the daunting task of providing effective backing tracks for the eclectic vocalists to elaborate over, and for the most part, he comes through. His production method is not too far from Muldrow’s actually, and can be paralleled to cats that bridge earthy jazz elements with futuristic synth bounces like Jneiro Jarel but without the quirky syncopations. Since Perkins already sing-raps with wavering, unpredictable verse structures and Muldrow emotively yelps with June Tyson-like vocal chops, a sturdy rhythm is pretty essential to keeping the tracks from completely toppling and Coles delivers. Though the simple drum machine rhythms rarely inspire awe, he does a great job of coloring each track with an eclectic array of samples from free jazz cellos to future-funk synths to wispy flutes. He hasn’t quite carved out an idiosyncratic style, but he is certainly heading in the right direction.

For the most part, Beautiful Mindz doesn’t quite live up to the solo projects of the artists involved, but it doesn’t really disappoint either. In a manner of speaking, it’s predictable, but only because Perkins and Muldrow don’t reach out beyond the quirky, soulful styles they have established. Perkins rants and pleads and coos for social, environmental and idealistic change using his rarely closed Parliament thesaurus, while Muldrow sounds especially restrained and, for the most part, only utilizing her incredible vocal cords for adlibs and depth. She excels during her only solo track, “Ain’t That Strange,” but lacks some of the urgency she’s displayed on previous releases. When both vocalists join forces though, typically with Muldrow supporting Perkins’ rants, the album shines. “A Beautiful Mind” is the prime example of this: a simple beat supported with electric piano chords and a delicate flute melody back first Perkins’ most focused verse on the album before Muldrow belts, chirps, chants and croons soulful adlibs and an all-too-brief bridge. “U R” also heads in this direction, but never really solidifies as a song instead settling as an excellent deep synth and handclap beat with a decent vocal hook. I also really dig “Messagez” where 2Tall finally steps out from solely the producer chair and provides some of his award-winning turntable skills, an element he should have taken advantage of much more.

Beautiful Mindz is a solid and interesting album with all three of the artists involved supplying their evolving crafts to one intriguing sound, but for some reason I want more. DJ 2Tall shows infinite promise with his backing tracks, but he sounds like a producer still discovering his own personal style. I could also say the same thing about Georgia Anne Muldrow, but she is definitely farther along with an amazing voice that continues to blow my mind (and she is still in her early 20s!). But Dudley Perkins on the other hand sounds like he is peaking with both his delivery and lyrical content. Not that this should be considered his apex, but along with Expressions (2012 A.U.), he is definitely fulfilling the creative promise he displayed on A Lil’ Light. I hope to hear from DJ 2Tall again, and would definitely be interested to hear him working with different emcees to help compare and contrast. And I will definitely be snatching the The Message Uni Versa when it drops, because this is a duo existing on a completely different level then most of the known musical universe, and I want to experience that myself.