The nomadic emcee known as R.A.P. Ferreira, fka milo, has been working at a steady clip for the better part of the last decade. His last effort came back in March of 2020, when he dropped purple moonlight pages with The Jefferson Park Boys. Now he’s back with a self-produced album, bob’s son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the garden level café of the scallops hotel.

While the title of this album might lead you to believe that it’s a tribute to Ferreira’s biological father, it’s actually a reference to poet Bob Kaufman, who is credited with coining the term “beatnik.” With that knowledge, the album makes a lot more sense, because Ferreira isn’t giving you much in the way of pop song structure. Instead, it’s a lot more of free-association with the words and the music, where it feels like the beat might stop or turn on a dime at any moment and become something else. Musically, it’s the lo-fi, downtempo style of production that you’ve come to expect from a Ferreira project, with a focus on these contemplative jazz piano melodies to give the album its soundscape. It’s not the type of album that’s easily accessible or digestible, but fortunately, Ferreira has been carving out this niche for himself for several years now, so most people know to approach his projects with some patience and understanding that if you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded. So with one pass through, you’ll catch some broad strokes and see patches of color here and there, but with each subsequent listen, you’ll get more detail and things will start to come into focus. Of course, you also get some help from other members of the Ruby Yacht, this time letting Pink Navel and SB the Moor shine with some killer guest appearances.

bob’s son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the garden level cafe of the scallops hotel isn’t an album that will necessarily hit you right away, at least if your ears are conditioned to listen to pop music the way a lot of ours are. Once you stick with it and readjust your ears, though, the rewards will come in the form of contemplative philosophical rhymes and moody beats that will swirl around in your head, giving you plenty to think about for a while.