In 2012, 15 years after the death of the legendary Notorious B.I.G., the borough of Brooklyn seemed poised to reclaim its position as rap’s top breeding ground with a litter of young talent. Then-17-year-old Joey Bada$$ had brought himself and his Pro Era collective to national prominence after the release of his iconic debut, 1999, and a group of psychedelic rappers known as Flatbush Zombies released their first mixtape, D.R.U.G.S. However, the Brooklyn re-emergence quickly slowed, with Bada$$ waiting until 2015 to release his debut studio album and Flatbush Zombies choosing to take even longer (because, well, I guess the undead don’t worry about timeframes). About four years after their first Flatbush Zombies project, group members Erick Arc Elliot, Meechy Darko and Zombie Juice come ready to keep the Brooklyn rap scene alive and well with their studio debut, 3001: A Laced Odyssey.
Produced fully by Elliot (also known as Erick The Architect), the 12-track hourlong album is brimming with hip-hop at its trippiest. On track one, “The Odyssey,” shoutouts to Tupac, Eminem, Biggie, Tech N9ne, Marilyn Manson, Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett and Stanley Kubrick highlight the group’s influences and offer insight into the creation of their complex sound. An ode to the group’s independent, major label-shunning approach, “A Spike Lee Joint” uses an Anthony Flammia feature for a motivationally self-descriptive hook: “Unsigned and independent/ Look, tell my moms I did it/ When you risk your life, constant struggle to survive/ Say yeah, oh, whoa.” Songs like “Smoke Break” and “Fly Away” are essential stoner tunes, perfectly accompanying the smoking sessions of any (and surely there are many) Flatbush fans familiar with casual marijuana use. It’s impossible not to vibe off the aux cord-worthy “Trade-Off,” as Darko inspires those fans who haven’t experimented with Woodstock’s favorite drug to get weird with it: “Did so much different drugs this year I’m feeling so amazing/ LSD, them potent doses, smoking ’till I take off/ Two freaks, one Meech, that’s an even trade-off.” When the album hits, and it often does, Flatbush Zombies skillfully encapsulate the trippy life into audio form.
The extended runtime of several songs on the album is also its most apparent flaw. Five of the tracks extend for more than five minutes, and album closer “Your Favorite Rap Song” drags on for nearly 13. “Ascension” continues to play for about two minutes without vocals, disrupting the nearly flawless album flow that Flatbush Zombies create up until that point. The aforementioned “Your Favorite Rap Song” could easily have been split into two separate tracks, as the rapping, albeit impressive, ends at the seven-minute mark with an impressive Michael Jackson punchline from Darko: “Don’t be scared; hol’ on tight/ Y’all should call me Conrad Murray the way I murder Mike.” However, the next five and a half minutes are recordings from fans professing their love for Flatbush Zombies. There’s nothing wrong with incorporating fan love into an album, but it would work most effectively if separated into its own outro track.
Overall, 3001: A Laced Odyssey is exactly the musical journey it needs to be. The album won’t convince those who already dislike the group that they’ve long been wrong in their opinion, but it will provide every bit of fuel for the fire of Flatbush Zombies’ already dedicated fandom. Elliot’s production is flawless, Juice’s high-pitched rapping is skillful as ever and Darko remains hauntingly talented. Unaffected by label pressure to go mainstream or adapt to trending sounds, Flatbush Zombies continue to create the experimental, hallucinatory music that brought them to the Brooklyn rap forefront back in 2012.
