Funny, though, how much things can change in just a few months.
Having taken a step back from the limelight (and, in the process, somewhat losing their position as top regional genre torch-bearers to the likes of A.Dd+), the group and its impressive live backing band appeared, from the outside looking in, to be preparing for a second push -- a way to capitalize on the blog hype that their 2009 Freeloaders mixtape had earned them nationally -- in the form of an upcoming release called Get a Life.
After a performance at South Side Music Hall on June 16, though, that all seems severely jeopardized.
Turns out, that South Side Music Hall show will be the last to feature the main duo of Brown and Blue.
After a band vote involving Brown, Blue and the backing band of K. Cooks (lead guitar), Sir Tim (keys) Jordan (percussion), King (percussion) and Matt "Big Kuntry" Curtis (bass), Blue was asked to leave the project.
Blue, who'd previously acted as the band's producer, co-vocalist and main hype man, and who has also produced for the likes of up-and-coming national emcees Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller, says he will now focus on solo projects.
The remaining members of Sore Losers will continue moving forward, performing and releasing music under the same moniker, but without Blue.
Brown and Blue have each posted reactions to the change on their respective Tumblr accounts.
On Monday afternoon, Brown expanded on the decision: "It's still Sore Losers," he said over the phone. "And it's still the same idea. I just feel like it helps the music a lot, personally."
The plan, Brown said, is to keep the project moving forward with the live band having more creative input, in turn minimizing the sample-based production that had previous been Sore Losers' calling card.
"I would say that it would be a change," he said. "As an artist, I'm always trying to change, recreate myself, evolve. As far as the sample base, whether it is a sample or original, as long as I can be inspired by the beat, I'm going to do something with it."
Earlier on Monday, Brown leaked an early, un-mastered version of Get a Life online, saying he fees like the band owed the release "to our loyal fans."
Blue, in his own post on the matter, responded, saying that "the fans deserve it done the right way, not with poor mixes and quality.
Sorry to all the supporters that have to deal with this."
So much drama in the Triple D. Shame, too -- especially since, unmastered or not, there are some fine cuts on Get a Life, including a song called "All For You" that smartly samples Erykah Badu's "Out My Mind, Just in Time."
Brown says a finished, mastered version of the album, which will also include additional songs featuring more of the live band's creative influence, will be released this fall. Later this summer, in August or September, he expects the Blue-less Sore Losers lineup to make its local live debut. That will come in the wake of a scheduled July, ESPN-sponsored performance in Los Angeles where the band will open for the likes of Lupe Fiasco and Cee-Lo Green.
"I'm really just trying to look forward, man," Brown added. "I'm trying to be as positive as I can about the situation, 'cause I'm not a negative dude. If you listen to my music, you'll know that. I'm really trying to create. I feel that I've got a lot to prove, and that's just how I feel, personally. That's how I've always felt."
Blue, to his credit, wishes his former collaborators luck moving forward: "I hope that their music careers grow to new heights," he wrote to his Tumblr page. "Let's put this behind us and move forward on different paths."
