“Travel at Your Own Pace” is the collaborative debut effort by Y Society, a duo comprised of the Bostonian wordsmith Insight and the Washington DC based beatsmith Damu The Fudgemunk. Although the duo stick to a primarily traditional flavor of hip hop, it is not due to a lack of creativity. Damu crafts hard hitting tracks with an array of samples and thick, filtered basslines for Insight to weave his wordy flow through. Insight’s topics stay down to earth and relatable, while his musical connection with Damu remains strong throughout the duration of the entire album.

I became familiar with Y Society about 3 years ago through Damu The Fudgemunk’s beat videos. Damu’s videos consisted of him sitting in the corner of a damp basement, with a turntable and an MPC 2000, surrounded by stacks of records. One video in particular piqued my interest; Damu played this awesome beat with a very interesting and unique sample, even before announcing that he would be releasing an album with Insight. I discovered that the beat in question was “Never Off (On & On)”, which became my favorite track upon hearing the album. Insight crafts an interesting narrative around a humorous vocal sample and looping piano on “Hole In Your Pocket”. “Dizzy” features Insight spitting about time travel with a rapid fire flow over Damu’s b-boy esque breakbeat. Other standouts include the cautionary “This Advice”, the jazzy “How Many Of Us?”, and the hard hitting “What’s Next”.

“Travel at Your Own Pace” is a great example of the potentially awesome hip hop that can come from a producer/emcee combo. Both artists also display a hunger and dedication that exemplifies what it means to truly be ‘hip hop’. Pick this one up and support underground hip hop.

by Kyle