WORK IN PROGRESS

--Eyedea & Abilities, "Kept," from E&A

For a guy who attacks other MCs with such venom on his duo's latest release, E&A, Eyedea is surprisingly humble in an interview.

"I don't even really like any of the songs on [E&A]," says the 22-year-old MC from his home in Minneapolis. "I like 'Reintroducing,' 'Glass" and, maybe 'Now.' The rest I could do without."

Staying true to the twisted ethic of his underground hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment, the MC embraces a certain Midwestern self-deprecation and back-handed humbleness. Like Slug of labelmate Atmosphere, Eyedea (given name: Mike Averill) makes it a point to separate himself from the hordes of boastful MCs while calling attention to his efforts with statements that directly challenge all the gauntlets he's thrown down in song. Such contradiction might come off as irritating, but in a world of unchecked braggadocio, Eyedea, along with his DJ, Abilities, has managed to cultivate a growing fanbase despite, or maybe because of, this flip-flopping. Of course, the talented duo's two-pronged hip-hop attack can't hurt, either.

Recorded two years ago and just released last spring, E&A, the duo's second full-length, is a exercise in a depth of, well, ideas and abilities that takes hip-hop in a different direction.

Most hip-hop, underground and mainstream, focuses the spotlight on the MC. The textures and beats created by the DJ serve as a foundation from which the mic-wielding MCs spill invective and verse. The beats, cuts and scratches coming from the hands of the DJ might be moving asses, but the words and the looming figure of the MC attracts the eyes and the ears.

Not so with Eyedea & Abilities. The duo, together for seven years, shares face time in concert and on album, the MC repeatedly telling anyone who might listen that his DJ is the best out there. It's not just talk. Abilities is given ample time to prove his skills on tracks like "Reintroducing," "Now" and "One Twenty," in which he lays out a full assortment of finger-spraining scratches and cuts that challenge Eyedea's frantic word-spills for prominence.

"What it is, is you got two people who are lead instruments," Eyedea says. "And we bring the one who's traditionally in the back to the front, so it's just an interesting dynamic. When we do a show, there's people who don't even necessarily think I'm all that great but they come to see him, and vice versa. It's like there are just two lead people, two icons in the group, and that's why I think it works as well as it does."

It also works because of the duo's ability to take the focus off of the traditional elements of hip-hop. By infusing their songs with funky keys and quick-cut samples (as well as longer samples from the film Slackers), Eyedea & Abilities dodge the sameness that afflicts many albums. Because of this, though, E&A doesn't quite sound like a coherent album, all its distinct elements competing to the point where it's like listening to a cluster of schizophrenic voices. This incoherence is just one of the things Eyedea points to when criticizing his work.

The two have had some time refining their work for their live shows. For the past two years, they've written, recorded and repeatedly reinvented the 13 tracks, just as they will when they plays the Aladdin Theater Wednesday. So what might appear to be a musical flip-flop isn't necessarily so; rather, it's the result of two artists openly examining their own work, throwing out what doesn't work and sticking with what does.

"The intro, 'Now' and 'Glass' are the ones [where] we came onto something that is really going to be a prelude to what works for us in the future, both on a solo level and together," Eyedea says. "But at any rate, I'm taking my version of what's good about the songs and making [a new solo album]. Over the next year, Abilities is gonna be making some solo turntable, probably full-length record. He's working on what he did in 'Now' as far as making the turntable the lead guitar in the song."

Attempting to turn the tables into a shredding musical instrument set front-and-center isn't revolutionary, but Eyedea & Abilities, with their mix of talent and humility, might be one of the first duos to get it right.

Eyedea & Abilities play with RJD2 Wednesday, Oct. 20, at Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 233-1994. 8 pm. $15 advance, $17 day of show. All ages.

WWeek 2015