The ungovernable Epic Beard Men. Back in the barber chair, fuckin’ up your market share. From the littlest state, killin’ the mixtapes. You can’t tell them shit. The chill is gone. The chill was never here. This Was Supposed to Be Fun.

This Was Supposed to Be Fun is the debut LP (and second official offering) from EBM, an indie- rap tour de force by two of the underground’s finest; Sage Francis and B. Dolan. This album knocks. It parties with disreputable outlaws in truck stops. It gleefully fills in for the band as the S.S. Fyre Festival sinks into the ocean. It blends the updated sounds of breakbeats and timeless drum machines, soul grooves and sub bass, guitars, violins, and a goddamn brass band have sat in before the party’s over. On the vocal side of things, more than a few lyrical heavyweights drop in to take their turn on the mics.

Slug of Atmosphere joins the gang in some NC-17 fun, as Sage Francis and B. Dolan are soulfully backed by Blue Raspberry of the Wu-Tang Clan on the road-noir tale of “Pistol Dave”. Eligh of the Living Legends and South African newcomer Yugen Blakrok contribute blistering verses, while New Orleans Bounce legend Vockah Redu, vocalist Kathleen Stubelek of Circle Takes the Square, and San Antonio upstart Worldwide contribute layered guest appearances in brilliant supporting roles. These Beards contain multitudes, and there’s room under them for all that is EPIC.

Guest spots and musical moments aside, fans of Strange Famous Records will know what they’ve signed up for lyrically. Throughout 50 minutes of intricately produced rap music, the duo of storied rapper/poets wanders freely and sets fires like the latchkey kids they were. This Was Supposed to Be Fun, but that doesn’t mean either emcee has shied away from their signature blend of the personal and political; topics range from the absurd to the unshakably true.

Sage Francis and B Dolan are the Epic Beard Men. Though accurate, the name started out as a joke, a calibrated goof on bro culture, from two rap greybeards who aren’t afraid to swing freely from dead-serious to wryly hilarious.

Hailing from the industrial outskirts of Providence, both artists are walking hip-hop vaults who are down to hang. They’re also down to fiddle with esoteric knowledge over hypnotic, sprawling sample compositions. Last year’s debut EP, Season 1, was a sublime buckshot blast of political commentary, interpersonal dispatches, and healthy introspection. Now the joke isn’t so funny anymore. This Was Supposed to Be Fun, dammit.

Epic Beard Men are the type of guys who will drop an “I’m That Type of Guy” reference and dare you to watch the video. Because this group works even if your roots don’t run all the way back to Gutfest ’89. For well over a decade, no matter how many tours they survived or releases they dropped — well over 20 between the two, depending how you count ‘em — this dream team and their DIY Econoline ethic endured a certain outsider status in hip-hop. Then something funny happened on the way to Catch One.