4 out of 5

Label: Weightless

Produced by: Blueprint

While it’s always great to hear Blueprint’s confident flow on the mic, it’s nice to be reminded that he also built up his reputation with his production skills.  ‘King No Crown’ seems like a more laid back affair versus the previous ‘Respect the Architect’: beats aren’t as in your face, and there’s a certain restraint to the tracks, with Blueprint taking more of a backseat to samples and guest stars.  It’s laid back to the extent that it might seem boring if you’re pairing it with that previous disc, or the more grin-worthy narratives of Soul Position – but this is overlooking not only key tracks like ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Black Intellectual’, but the seamless mix the album presents, which is the testament of Blue’s studio talents.  Tracks of varying tempos and tones swim together, become both more unique and thematically unifying with repeat listens.  Meaning, you start to appreciate the hooks and strengths of each song while recognizing the thoughtfulness and reflection of the stories told by the lyrics.  There are, of course, tracks that boast of our M.C.’s everlasting abilities, but even these big-up moments make reference to a sense of history and loss, celebrating the success of the King but acknowledging that he has no crown to show for it.

It’s a pretty deep disc without the backpacking taint of trying too hard to be so; Blueprint comes by these reflections honestly thanks to his history, and has the intelligence to do them justice lyrically and the chops to make ’em sound damn good.

I bought this and ‘Respect’ together, and was admittedly caught up in the more single-geared vibe of that disc for a while, but more patient listens of ‘King No Crown’ have definitely yielded the rewards of an affecting album.