Beautiful Eulogy is a Christian

experimental hip hop Progressive rap (or progressive hip hop) is a broad subgenre of hip hop music that aims to progress the genre thematically with socially transformative ideas and musically with stylistic experimentation. Developing through the works of innovati ...

group and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

team from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, signed to the label Humble Beast. Composed of rappers

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

and Odd Thomas and producer Courtland Urbano, the group coalesced in 2011 while the three artists were involved in the creation of Braille's seventh release, ''Native Lungs''. Known for its experimental and eclectic sound, the group melds myriad styles of hip hop with genres such as

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

s, and modern

worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

. After contributing a song to the

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

compilation ''King Kulture'' and making a guest appearance on

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the ind ...

's ''

Church Clothes ''Church Clothes'' is the first mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released for free on May 10, 2012, and hosted by DJ Don Cannon. It featured No Malice of Clipse on the song "Darkest Hour", and included production work by 9th Wonder, B ...

'', the band released its debut album, ''

Satellite Kite ''Satellite Kite'' is the debut album by the Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records in both commercial and free formats on June 19, 2012. The album was praised for its eclectic and ...

'', on June 19, 2012. A second album, ''

Instruments of Mercy ''Instruments of Mercy'' is the second studio album by Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records on October 29, 2013, in both free and commercial format. Like its predecessor, the alb ...

'', came out on October 29, 2013. Called one of the most innovative hip hop groups in Portland, Beautiful Eulogy has met with critical acclaim, with particular praise directed at the group's creative, unconventional sound and deep theological lyrics.

History

Beautiful Eulogy formed during the recording sessions of rapper

's seventh studio album ''Native Lungs'' and Odd Thomas's planned second studio album ''Satellite Kite''. After Courtland Urbano agreed to produce Odd Thomas's planned album, the two traveled to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to help produce Braille's album. The two wanted to form a production team, and during discussions over an interlude for ''Native Lungs'', they came up with the name "Beautiful Eulogy." Thomas and Urbano returned to Portland and began working on the album art and production for ''Satellite Kite''. At this juncture, Braille and Thomas, owners of the Humble Beast record label, realized that they could not run their label while working as separate artists in different parts of the country. This, combined with Braille's decision to not make an eighth solo studio album, led the three artists decided to combine their efforts, and Beautiful Eulogy was born. Beautiful Eulogy first appeared on Christian hip hop website

Rapzilla Rapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine. The website contains many sections such as latest news, album reviews, articles, interviews, music downloads, videos, release dates, and columns. Rapzilla is known for its up-to-date news. The we ...

compilation ''King Kulture'', released January 31, 2012, on which the trio, along with fellow Humble Beast members Theory Hazit and Lee Green, performed the title track. The group next appeared along with

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

and DJ Efechto on the

song "Misconception" from the mixtape ''

''. This track garnered much critical praise, with some reviewers considering it one of the best tracks from the mixtape. On June 19, 2012, Beautiful Eulogy released its debut album, ''

'', in both a commercial format and a free download off

NoiseTrade NoiseTrade is a global online audio and book direct-to-fan distribution platform. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee. It enables its users to upload original music and books and give away for free without digital rights management to anyone w ...

. The album garnered much critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the album's innovation, deep, theologically complex lyricism, skilled rapping, and creative and unconventional production. Beautiful Eulogy also featured on the song "Restore my Vision (Pluck My Eyes Out!)" by Timothy Brindle on ''The Restoration'', released on July 24, 2012. On August 20, 2013, Beautiful Eulogy released a music video for the song "Vital Lens" from its upcoming second studio album, ''

'', and on September 10, 2013, "Vital Lens" was released as a single. ''Instruments of Mercy'' was released on October 29, 2013, in both commercial and free download format, and, like its predecessor, was met with critical acclaim. ''

PQ Monthly ''PQ Monthly'' was a free, advertising-supported, monthly LGBTQ newspaper and online publication for Oregon and southwest Washington and, briefly, Seattle, published in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first issue was released on . The last pr ...

'' called the trio one of the most innovative hip hop groups in Portland. A second music video, "Release Me from This Snare", was released on November 21, 2013. Their third video, "Symbols and Signs", was released on February 19, 2014.

Style

Beautiful Eulogy performs a hybrid,

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

form of hip hop that draws from genres such as

s, and

contemporary worship music Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are fr ...

. On ''

'', Courtland Urbano explored styles including

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the ba ...

, R&B,

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

, electro-hip hop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

highlighted some of the unconventional sounds used by Urbano, such as dripping water, wind, and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

. Sphere of Hip Hop compared the experimental and electronic style of the album's beats to

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, Disc jockey, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. Flyi ...

and the

Brainfeeder Brainfeeder is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Flying Lotus in 2008, focusing on electronic music and instrumental hip hop. It has signed artists such as Ras G, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat, The ...

label. On ''

'', Urbano used entirely analog and natural sounds, with the electronic sounds on the album created by

analog synthesizer An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...

instead of by a computer. Stylistically, on this album the group continued to draw from and folk, electronic, and indie, and reviewers stated that it sounded almost more like a worship album than a hip-hop recording. For this recording, the group used sound affects such as dripping water,

dial tone A dial tone is a telephony Signaling (telecommunication), signal sent by a telephone exchange or private branch exchange (PBX) to a terminating device, such as a telephone, when an off-hook condition is detected. It indicates that the exchange is ...

wind chimes Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or rods ...

, rain, chirping birds, footsteps, and rustling leaves, and instruments such as

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, and

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

. '' HM'' stated that the album "has musical textures to draw heads deep in their given genre, as well as

neo-folk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrument ...

ies and aficionados of downtempo

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

." The magazine further elaborated that the group surpasses even

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

at matching penetrating rhymes to soaring female choruses, ventures to "reinvent

hip-house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s. British group the Beatmaster ...

, albeit in a more

glitch A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...

y manner", and "manages the tricky triptych of doctrinal/theological incisiveness, inventive musical engagement and, were this a better world, a left-field pop sensibility that could allow these fellas share pop radio time with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

while shaming them with intelligent spitting."

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' - 2012 *''

'' - 2013 *'' Worthy'' - 2017

Collaborative albums

Singles

*"Vital Lens" - 2013

Music videos

*"Vital Lens" - 2013 *"Release Me from this Snare" - 2013 *"Symbols and Signs" - 2014

Guest appearances

Production discography

- '' Excellent'' * Propaganda - ''

Crimson Cord ''Crimson Cord'' is the fifth studio album from Christian hip hop recording artist Propaganda. The album was produced by Beautiful Eulogy and released by Humble Beast Records on April 29, 2014. It met with commercial and critical success. Reco ...

'' *

Jackie Hill Perry Jackie Hill Perry (née Jackie Hill, born June 21, 1989) is an American poet, writer, and hip hop artist who initially garnered popularity for her performances of spoken word pieces such as "My Life as a Stud", "A Poem About Weed", and "Jig-a- ...

- ''The Art of Joy'' (alongside TheBridge) * Foreknown - ''Ornithology'' (produces "Rebooted", "Double Tap", "The Truth About Flight, Love and BB Guns (feat. Catalina Bellizzi) & "Little Miss So & So" *

Eshon Burgundy Anton Eshon Hairston (born April 21, 1980), who goes by the stage name Eshon Burgundy, is an American former Christian hip hop musician. His first album, ''Blood Rushing to My Head'', was released in 2012 with Salvation Armie Music Group. He ...

– '' The Fear of God''

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2011 Christian hip hop groups West Coast hip hop groups American folk musical groups 2011 establishments in Oregon Musical groups from Portland, Oregon American musical trios