Fellow producer/MC’s and longtime indy hip hop stalwarts Count Bass D & Insight team up for their collabo album The Risk Takers, dropping later this month. The projects first single “Be Rocking It” features Pacewon.

“This album looked like an evidence for both of us, i knew the work of Insight , long before i met him. It’s definitely a person who appeals to new perspectives which are going far beyond the music. He’s the kind of man who is able to produce a killer beat and in the meantime program apps to make music on youri Phone. Our collaboration is born o this abundance of ideas,” Says Count Bass D to portray Insight and the genesis of this album.

LISTEN: Count Bass D + Insight Are The Risktakers – “Be Rocking It”

Count Bass D + Insight Are The Risktakers – “Be Rocking It” (feat. Pacewon)

     Rather than Edan’s distortion-heavy madness, though, Insight’s production tends more towards the jazzual, underpinned with tight, thick percussion. Across these variously boombastic, pretty, cheerful and soulful backdrops,  Insight spits intricate knowledge on matters varying from the historical events that led to the present form of hip-hop (“Time Frame”), to the way we’re kept mis- or uninformed by modern government (“Forced labour on Dominican sugar plantations/are responsible for 15% of the US trade nation”, from “Lots of facts about Control”), and the way most peoples’ careers and lives seem to be going nowhere (“Another Cycle”). There are concept cuts like “Daily Routine”, which follows a plethora of interconnecting city lives, “Inventors”, wherein he imagines life were the inventions of black inventors (and how many do YOU know about?) to disappear, or “Seventeen MCs”, where he basically delivers a vast posse cut on his own, in 17 different voices. Amazing.

     Add to this the mentalist apocalypse of Edan collaboration “Unexplained Phenomenon” and a very dope bonus track previewing forthcoming project Midnight Shipment, with fellow Bostonites Dahga and Adad, and you have an album as impressive and thought-provoking as it is enjoyable. After hearing this you’ll want to hunt down a copy of his Electric crew’s Life’s A Struggle, released earlier this year, not to mention Updated Software 2.5 from a few years back. You’re now in the blast radius; don’t let ignorance ‘save’ you from this bomb.

On the majority of the 17 joints that make up the vocal disc of Updated Software…, Insight sticks to the more straight-ahead boom-bap sound that other Boston artists like 7L & Esoteric, Akrobatik, and Mr. Lif are known for. Loud drums and sparse instrumentation provide the foundation for Insight’s vocals – often rhyming but sometimes just seemingly off-the-head thoughts (“Words Of Encouragement”). His delivery ranges from 4/4 standard flows to almost Ced Gee like non-rhyming rambling. Aside from the vocal stylings, Insight’s lyrics provide a well-rounded compliment to his tracks, as he showcases several styles of writing and subject matter throughout the 50-minute vocal disc. He covers a variety of themes, whether it’s giving props to contemporary producers and hip-hop as a whole (“Music Lover”), laying out a tale of robbery and murder of a music studio owner (“Back Up”), or dedicating a conscious-minded ode to overcoming hardships and conquering your demons (“Words of Encouragement”).

Throughout Updated Software…, ‘Sight digs into the engineer’s grab bag and hits you with all sorts of acoustic tricks and effects, whether he’s tweaking EQ settings, making his vocals sound like an SP1200, or telling you when he’s about to fade out and fade back in the beat. Insight’s creative sequencing and arrangements – often flying in new samples for only a few bars in the song – make otherwise average productions come to life and stick in your head.

The second disc of Updated Software… is 26 Insight-produced instrumentals deep, with a few beats from the vocal disc included. Also thrown in are the beats from Mr. Lif’s “Fulcrum” and “Triangular Warfare”. ‘Sight adds some pretty corny commentary over the tracks, but minus the narration the beats bang. It’s a testament to his diverse style of production that he offers everything from breakbeat driven loops to synth and oscillator programmed bass heavy beats.

Overall, Updated Software v. 2.5 is a pretty solid debut from an over-achieving hip-hop head. The addition of some guest emcees could have spiced up the sometimes mediocre rhyme content, but Insight gets points for keeping the beats fresh and maintaining a strong mic presence. The creative packaging of the 2-disc set is a plus too – with the video content giving you a full glimpse into the creative mind of Insight. Hopefully other hip-hop labels will pick up on this addition of multimedia content, an added value that could definitely persuade someone to come out the wallet instead of just downloading the mp3s.