Blood Of Abraham: Eyedollartree

Better known for its connection to mentor Eazy-E and its members' Jewish heritage than for its music, Blood Of Abraham put out the little-noticed Future Profits in 1993, then promptly disappeared. It's been a long time coming, but BOA has finally released a follow-up, and it's well worth the wait, a conceptually audacious song cycle that's remarkable for both its Herculean ambition and its nearly flawless execution. Released in conjunction with a short film of the same name, Eyedollartree is a vivid, cinematic work that alternately recalls the swirling, apocalyptic chaos of The Bomb Squad and the trippy sonic funhouses of Prince Paul. With its sonic experimentation, esoteric lyrics, and gargantuan conceptual ambition, Eyedollartree is about as close to progressive rock as hip-hop gets, but it's also free of pretentious self-indulgence. In terms of production, Eyedollartree is downright revolutionary, a dense, eclectic sound collage that swings like the fuzzed-out, retro Beck of "Sexx Laws" and "New Pollution" on "Calling On Citizens" and "Hurricane," and outdoes Dr. Octagon on the surreal Kool Keith/Divine Styler collaboration "Omegatron." But while Eyedollartree is one of the most far-reaching and eclectic albums since Mos Def's similarly masterful Black On Both Sides, it's held together by a powerful vision of modern society spinning out of control, a victim of its own avarice and misplaced priorities. It's an abstract sort of social criticism—loopy enough to allow an abundance of conspiracy-theory talk more akin to Public Enemy's "Welcome To The Terrordome" than to the concrete politics of The Coup and Dead Prez—but it's effective in its own right. Displaying cavernous depth and mammoth scope that few artists of any genre would even attempt, Eyedollartree is a left-field masterpiece.