“The prerequisite to a genuine optimism is understanding. An understanding of one’s past, one’s present, as well as one’s trajectory. Without such an understanding, the resultant optimism is instead a sloppy veneer, hardly capable of convincing onlookers of its own hope and driving force.

On ‘Open Your Optics to Optimism,’ LA’s Blu and producer Fa†e buckle into a DeLorean, cruising back to a time before time in order that they might gain the knowledge necessary to exude such a genuine optimism. Blu outlines Earth’s history and then dives within it, beginning from the abyssal plane of the ocean floor, to the stunning sights of the outer atmosphere, and finally beyond, culminating in a personal transcendence outside both space and time.

Of course, there are snags along the way, indicated by the worried/chilling vocals of Cehryl on “Higher,” as we ascend ever further from Earth’s surface. But this same anxiety gives rise to a rip through the ozone on “UFO,” and the mature introspection allowed by guest rappers milo and Open Mike Eagle on “Oblivia.”

Faced with the absurdity and bluntness of such numbers as “4.6 billion years,” it’s hard to imagine a human conjuring any optimism at all. But Blu’s calm and creative delivery, as well as experimentally-rooted lyricism act as the perfect guide across Fa†e’s rhythmically cohesive and booming production.

You’re not alone in asking the hard questions. Strap in.”

-Grandmaster Hex

iTunes: Open Your Optics to Optimism – Blu & Fa†e