Happy 15th Anniversary to Lifesavas’ second studio album Gutterfly, originally released April 24, 2007.
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The year 2007 was a strong one for hip-hop, and Lifesavas’ Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack is an underappreciated gem. With its sophomore album, the Portland, Oregon-based dives deep into their Blaxploitation bag and does a magnificent job of creating a soundtrack without a film. The project feels authentic to the era that it honors, while still being forward-thinking in its lyricism and musicality.
Lifesavas were the first act signed to Quannum Projects that was not a part of the imprint’s original Solesides configuration. The crew, comprised of Solomon “JUMBO the Garbage Man” David, Marlon “Vursatyl” Irving, and Ryan “Rev Shines” Shortell, debuted with Spirit In Stone (2003), a dope and thoroughly underground hip-hop project you’d expect from Quannum in the early 2000s. The album was a collection of expertly crafted, skill-based exhibitions and high-concept tracks that definitely formed an impressive freshman outing. Production was helmed by both members of the group, but mostly JUMBO, as well as a handful of tracks by Blackalicious’ Chief Xcel.
Gutterfly, released 15 years ago, is a decidedly different undertaking. For one, the rest of the Quannum roster barely has any presence on the endeavor. Chief Xcel produces one interlude and programs drums on another track, but otherwise Lifesavas’ label-mates are absent. The vision for Gutterfly was conceived by the trio and they execute it nearly flawlessly. Though Spirit In Stone was excellent, Gutterfly is a marked improvement for the crew.
Gutterfly is a love-letter to Blaxploitation flicks of the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Members of the group have said it draws much of its inspiration from Coonskin, the controversial Ralph Bakshi film. Gutterfly’s general theme follows the fictious lost screenplay of a film of the same name, to be directed by the equally fictious Baraka Feldman. Though the script is “lost” in a fire, Feldman requests Lifesavas to record the film’s soundtrack.
The three members of the crew transform into Bumpy Johnson (Vursatyl), Sleepy Floyd (JUMBO), and Jimmy Slimwater (DJ Shines), and head to Razor Blade City (a.k.a. Portland). The city’s underworld is ruled by crime-boss Pharoahe a.k.a. The Man, who reigns terror on its residents, assisted by his five assassin daughters. After Pharoahe’s assassins kill one of their friends, the trio swear revenge, hoping to lead the uprising against his corrupt rule.
The plot of the would-be film is mostly sprinkled in the interludes throughout Gutterfly, all narrated by Ike Willis, a regular studio contributor and touring sideman for Frank Zappa’s band. Even when the full-length tracks themselves don’t convey the film’s story, most sound like they could score its respective scenes. JUMBO again handles most of the album’s production, save for a few tracks handled by outside producers. Making extensive use of live instrumentation. Jumbo’s grooves capture the grit and funk of the films of Blaxploitation’s golden era.
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There are overall thematic similarities between Gutterfly and the half-animated/half live-action Coonskin. There’s the three friends who come to town looking for a big score. There’s the corrupt gangster and his killer progeny. There’s the mission to empower the minds and souls of the city’s residents. However, Gutterfly isn’t nearly as raunchy and, well, “cartoonish” as Coonskin. The album is also considerably more restrained; Bakshi’s film is about as subtle as a lead pipe to the back of the head. Although none of Lifesavas are as cool as Coonskin’s lead character, Rabbit, there’s no shame in that; Rabbit is one of the most bad-ass animated characters ever created.
Gutterfly comes out swinging with “Double Up,” a tone-setting ode to the importance of coming out stronger when you get a second opportunity. Produced by Ohno, the track is a dense ball of energy, powered by flutes and stuttering vocals. As both Vursatyl and JUMBO describe the importance of coming back stronger the second time out. “Ghetto scriptures paint a picture like ‘DYNAMITE!’ Evans,” JUMBO raps. “Life after life feel good time…Epsom.”
Gutterfly is notable for Lifesavas’ efforts in making excellent use of guest appearances. The group enlist a murderer’s row of outside contributors, including well-known rappers, vocalists, and bands. Rather than making the album feel cluttered, these guests make the album sound more complete. Each special appearance fits perfectly into the album’s theme and sound.
For the title track, Lifesavas enlist Camp Lo, the flamboyant Bronx-based duo who have used the Blaxploitation pastiche throughout t its career. The two groups strut as they kick their verses, making their grand entrance into Razor Blade City, backed by a fanfare of trumpets, stabs of guitars, and a rolling bassline. On “A Serpent’s Love,” Ish a.k.a. Butterfly of Digable Planets teams up with Lifesavas, sounding at home rapping over the elastic bassline and creeping groove. All three envision enacting blood-soaked revenge on those who’ve slain their comrades in arms.
“Superburn” makes for a lot of entertainment, as JUMBO and Vursatyl throw themselves into their roles, describing their escapades throughout Razor Blade City, running roughshod over Pharoahe’s henchmen. “The Warning” features the pair bouncing across the track’s distorted bass licks and strings. Vursatyl, in particular, zones out, delivering one of the best verses on the album. Using shifting rhyme patterns and delivery, he raps, “Cats rattle off and dance at Chippendale’s / You can’t count me in bars, Black, I spit prison cells / Sworn to launch missiles from loose leaves nightly / And if that ain’t the truth, may the Mark of the Beast bite me.”
Lifesavas do include a few tracks on Gutterfly that exist outside of the overall theme. The best of these is “Long Letter,” which draws liberally from Don Blackman’s early ’80s ballad “Since You Been Away So Long.” JUMBO and Vursatyl speak respectfully to their friends and family who are incarcerated, deceased, or who enlisted in the military during the early ’00s. Blackman himself appears on the song, crooning adlibs and adding vocals to the track’s bridge.
Lifesavas do a good job at portraying the hopelessness that is part in parcel with urban decay throughout Gutterfly. In an inspired choice, they collaborate with the legendary rock fusion band Fishbone on the somber and horn-heavy “Dead Ones,” memorializing the walking dead in Razor Blade city, left destitute in the midst of urban blight. The group later bring in the proverbial lyrical heavy artillery in the form of Smif-N-Wessun for the menacing, Jake One-produced “The Squeeze.” Each crew describe the commonalities present in the many economic disadvantaged areas throughout the country.
“The Night Out” exhibits a similar air of peril, while still oozing funk. George Clinton contributes one of his trademark messy appearances, in the form of ad-libs throughout the song, as the pair of emcees detail close encounters with law enforcement, with each barely escaping unscathed. “Shine Language” serves as an effective counterpoint, as the two emcees describe residents in these blighted areas conquering the adversity they faced during their upbringing. JUMBO’s production for the track is inspirational, adding a grand piano and a solid bassline to underscore the soaring violins and violas.
Gutterfly culminates with “Freedom Walk,” where Lifesavas are joined by dead prez to deliver a rousing call to action for revolution and uprising against the current power structure. Over a soaring track, Stic.man contributes a potent opening verse, advocating for the necessity of direct action towards gaining true liberation. “My old Earth always tell me to pray,” he raps. “But a n***a need a vest these days, in the streets we the prey / And I can’t eat no sermon, can’t live no lecture / Can’t drive a scripture, we need food, clothes, and shelter.”
“Tailormade Razorbladez,” Gutterfly’s bonus track, is a fun addition. It still sounds like it could be lifted from a film score, but it has a different feel than everything else on the album. The brief two-verse track would function well as the background music for one of the film’s fight scenes, as JUMBO hooks some early Wu-Tang Clan influenced raw shit. While JUMBO has opponents “catching cold sweats from a broken-battle banger,” Vursatyl delivers “ton weighing Uzis, I mold movies from tainted rubies / For werewolves and Wookies that copycat my boogie.”
Unfortunately, Gutterfly was the last album that Lifesavas released. Of the three members, Vursatyl seems to be the most active, releasing a few solo projects and touring. He contributed a verse to the late Gift of Gab’s posthumous release Finding Inspiration Somehow (2021), while JUMBO produced a track. The two also contributed separately to a pair of songs on DJ Shadow’s Our Pathetic Age (2019).
Gutterfly holds up as one of the best projects that Quannum released. Its grooves still slap, and its lyricism is still potent. As with all great concept albums, it creates a unique world on record that sounds fully realized. Lifesavas ambition paid off, as all of the moving parts fit and come together to create a singular listening experience.
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