ARTIST: Lifesavas
TITLE: Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack
LABEL: Quannum Projects
GENRE: Hip-Hop
BITRATE: 169kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 1h 01m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-04-24
RIP DATE: 2007-04-13
Track List
----------
1. Intro: Welcome To Razorblade 0:48
City
2. Double Up 3:46
3. Gutterfly (Feat. Camp Lo) 4:24
4. No Surprise 4:01
5. Shine Language 3:59
6. Take Me Away 3:20
7. A Serpent's Love (Feat. Ish 5:33
(Butterfly/Digable Planets))
8. Dead Ones (Feat. Fishbone) 4:04
9. The Warning 2:54
10. Superburn 3:44
11. Night Out (Feat. George Clinton 5:01
& Meganut)
12. The Squeeze (Feat. Smif 'n' 3:38
Wessun)
13. Long Letter (Feat. Don 3:56
Blackman)
14. Freedom Walk (Feat. Dead Prez & 5:37
Vernon Reid)
15. Celebrate 3:42
16. Untitled 0:38
17. Untitled 2:47
Release Notes:
At the core of LIFESAVAS' artistry is their passionate commitment to preserving
the culture by focusing on lyrical integrity and signature beats. LIFESAVAS'
vibe is immersed in soul and futuristic funk, with dazzling tag-team rhymes and
impeccable production. With each song they recall defining moments in hip-hop
history, while also offering a progressive view of hip-hop's future. LIFESAVAS'
sophomore album Gutterfly is the embodiment of their passion. The duo's
songwriting skills are showcased in the arrangements of a collection of daring
concepts and subject matter.
Gutterfly's narrative includes 14 tracks with a thread of interludes, and traces
the fictional deeds of a trio of ghetto superheroes - Bumpy Johnson (played by
VURS as if his life depended on it), Sleepy Floyd (a character wholly inhabited
by JUMBO) and Jimmy Slimwater (personified by SHINES) - who fight their way out
of the perilous confines of a mythologized Portland, Razorbade City, in a way
that's reminiscent of the creation myth behind many a great hip-hop partnership
in the history of the genre (from Outkast to Tribe Called Quest). Inspired by an
obscure, long-forgotten film project from the `80s of the same name, Gutterfly
draws its source material not only from Baraka Feldman's original concept but
also from the blaxploitation films of the `70s, such as "Coonskin" and the
Zatoichi series of Japanese cult films, and the desire to shatter fans'
expectations about what Lifesavas represent.
"With this album we thought `let's just go back to me and JUMBO, the things we
liked back in the day, the way it was when we first started out,'" says
VURSATYL. The opportunity was there for us to say something really human with
this record. And we tried to use the umbrella of the story to play with identity
a little bit - it gave us the freedom to say things we might not have,
otherwise." "Being able to talk about these issues, in character, allowed us to
get real free with it," JUMBO relates. ""VURS calls me the visionary cause I can
see things before they happen, when we creatin' ya know?" "I thought it would be
fly just to jump into this character to show you who I am in my real life, then
merge that with the movie script. We ended up doing it backwards, but you still
get both sides of the coin that way."
"JUMBO's funny, he thinks about everything in reverse," laughs VURS about his
partner. "Sometimes it'll be the complete opposite of what I'm thinking, and
I'll just have to pick up on what he's laying down and go with it. Gutterfly is
the story of our deprivation: the ghetto is desolation, it's poverty, and me and
JUMBO have been around each other all our lives, and were like `how can we make
it up outta here?' We wanted to do something just for us, something we'd dig,
that would make the second record more interesting to do. We threw caution to
the wind."
The dynamic duo from Portland, OR (a.k.a. Razorblade City) who go by the name of
LIFESAVAS - emcee/ producer JUMBO the Garbageman and emcee VURSATYL - couldn't
be any more separate in terms of vocal style, point of view and even appearance,
yet what they bring as a collective is timeless. Early on, the two pursued
parallel hip-hop careers but promised to eventually work together. When JUMBO's
best friend, one of the emcees that VURS worked with, was murdered in a
gang-related shooting, they had the impetus they needed to finally make it
happen; they collaborated on a track inspired by the incident called "Stop the
Madness," and this ultimately led to the formation of LIFESAVAS. The pair's
initial recorded work ended up on cassettes at local record stores where Chief
Xcel discovered the group.
VURSATYL was then invited to tour the world as a part of Blackalicious' live
performance, covering emcee/backup vocals and adding to their sound with his
vocal style of lyricism and soulful singing, abilities he honed as a youth,
partly in gospel choirs and partly on the streets of Portland. Shortly
thereafter, Chief Xcel offered LIFESAVAS a record deal from Quannum Projects.
LIFESAVAS released their widely-praised debut, Spirit In Stone, in 2003.
VURSATYL and JUMBO's powerful songwriting over beats provided mainly by JUMBO,
with contributions from DJ SHINES and Chief Xcel, delivered memorable anthems.
The album's blend of soulful, hard-hitting beats, spiritual consciousness and De
La Soul-influenced verbal discourse immediately struck a chord and marked the
duo as one of the Native Tongues' heir apparents. LIFESAVAS became an immediate
live favorite with their captivating showmanship and endless high energy, only
paralleled by artists such as Busta Rhymes.
Spirit in Stone quickly rose to classic underground status; the album shot up to
#1 on the CMJ hip-hop chart, and singles "What If It's True," "Hellohihey" and
"Head Exercise" all hit #1 on the CMJ singles chart. The critically acclaimed
"Hellohihey" is now considered a hip-hop classic in the minds of many,
showcasing VURSATYL's astounding lyrical ability. LIFESAVAS made an explosive
impact with audiences during the Quannum World Tour in early 2004,
overwhelmingly regarded as a highlight of the sold out shows throughout North
America and Europe. They've gone on to play around 100 shows a year,
crisscrossing the world and further adding to their massive fan base.
While recording the follow-up album to Spirit in Stone, JUMBO and VURSATYL
kicked double duty with guest appearances on numerous recordings and independent
films, including an unexpected contribution on the Portland edition of the
acclaimed Burn To Shines DVD project. JUMBO remixed the Lyrics Born standout
"Pack Up," highly praised by KRS-ONE who collaborated on the track. He produced
Automato's "Walk Into The Light" and scored a track on the soundtrack to The
Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Meanwhile, VURSATYL released Mr.Gusto: The
Style Junkie Chronicles and was the only featured artist on Gift of Gab's solo
album Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up.