That led him to trucking.
“I got my CDL at the end of 2021,” Blueprint said. “I drove a truck all of 2022 and then I purchased my own truck in 2023. I was an owner-operator for about eight months. That was very intense. I thought the music industry was chaotic. It ain’t got nothing on the trucking industry. It looks very boring from the outside but when you’re actually in the trucking industry, especially if you’re driving or have your own operating authority, it’s very chaotic.
“I liked trucking because it’s a very simple business model,” he continued. “You pick up something, you drop it off somewhere and you get paid. Anybody can understand that. Music doesn’t work that way. On the positive side I stayed focused. Whether I was releasing music or not, I continued making music. I never stopped trying to develop my skills.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
From novice to pro
Blueprint, born Albert Shepard on July 11, 1974, first discovered hip-hop in elementary school in Columbus. He became fully immersed in music as a DJ at the student-run radio station at Wittenberg University in Springfield.
“I was DJing when I first got to Wittenberg,” Blueprint said. “I wasn’t really rapping that much. I learned how to DJ because I was working for the college radio station. They had an insane record room with jazz and soul records and stuff. And they had these Technics turntables that nobody touched. They were sitting in a closet all piled up. This was back when people thought vinyl was dead.
“No one cared so they let me take the turntables home in the summer and learn,” he continued. “They were like, ‘Yeah, cool. Nobody else is doing anything with them. You might as well learn how to do it.’ I learned how to DJ and the next year I was DJing every party on campus. That’s what got me into making beats. I started rhyming there as well but back then I was more into beats.”
Blueprint and lyricists Inkwel and Manifest started Greenhouse Effect in 1997. That became the duo known simply as Greenhouse with Blueprint and rapper Illogic. Releases include “Up to Speed” EP (1999), “Life Sentences” (2003) and “Bend But Don’t Break” (2013). Blueprint and producer RJD2 also released “Unlimited EP” (2002), “8 Million Stories” (2003) and “Things Go Better with RJ and Al” (2006) under the moniker Soul Position. In the early days, Blueprint was working a corporate job while pursuing his rap career and running his label, Weightless Recordings.
“My degree was in computer science, so I moved to Cincinnati after Wittenberg,” he said. “I was there about seven years. I worked at the Kroger headquarters down there for five years. The albums we were putting out in ‘99 and 2000 opened a lot of doors. The records we were putting out on Weightless, specifically the Illogic records, started doing well enough where he became a fulltime artist. I was still working.
“Then RJD2 signed to Def Jux and became a fulltime artist,” Blueprint continued. “We were doing Soul Position at the time. Everybody I knew was starting to be able to do this. I kept my job, but it was starting to hit close to home. Eventually Soul Position signed to Rhymesayers. I was offered an opportunity to tour in 2002 and that’s when I left Kroger. That tour was 63 shows in 71 days. I’d never done more than four or five shows a year. So, I hopped in during the summer of 2002 and I didn’t look back until the pandemic.”
Blueprint dropped his first solo release, “The Weightroom,” in 2003 and moved back to Columbus the following year. Other solo releases include “Vitamins & Minerals” EP (2004), “1988″ (2005), “Adventures in Counter-Culture” (2011) and “Vigilante Genesis” EP (2016). He is also an author. His fifth book, “The Social Media Cheat Code,” was published in 2021. His other books include “Word is Blog! Volume One: 2010-2011″ and “The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture,” both from 2012, “The 10 Traits of Successful Hip-Hop Artists” and “What A Night: A Book About the Worst Shows of My Career.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Back in the game
Blueprint has parked his rig for now. His focus is back on music and performing live in support of the new EP, “Falling Down.” It’s his first release since the 2018 album, “Two Headed Monster,” (2018), but it’s one of many new offerings in the que. There are two planned releases for the fall, a reissue of “Chamber Music” (2004) and a new sequel to that instrumental album.
“My last album came out in 2018,” Blueprint said. “I did a full tour that year, maybe 60 shows. Then, I only played one show in 2019. I was going to put out a new record in 2020 so I didn’t want to do a lot before then. I wanted to make sure my draw was there when I came back in 2020. Then the pandemic happened. I could see it wasn’t coming back anytime soon.’ By the end of 2021, it had been three years since my tour, so I had to do something else financially until things came back.
“It was kind of depressing not to be able to release music in a good environment,” Blueprint added. “COVID ruined my rhythm with that but it’s coming back. I mean, I never stopped working on music. I kept focusing on things I enjoy doing. Consequently, I made a lot of music from 2020 to 2023. Now that I’m returning, I can actually map out a two- or three-year plan of releases that are all done.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
How to go
Who: Blueprint with Picket Fence, Tino and Unjust
Where: Blind Bob’s, 430 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Cost: $12
More info: 937-938-6405 or blindbobs.com
Artist info: printmatic.net
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