Peter Macia of Pitchfork commented that "The gravity of Edan's lyrics and voice on Beauty and the Beat is perhaps its most surprising element" and " gone from a brainiac prankster to the Borges of rap." Nathan Rabin of The A.V.
EDAN SPRAIN YOUR TAPEDECK PROFESSIONAL
Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scoresĪt Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Beauty and the Beat received an average score of 85, based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". It peaked at number 40 on the UK Independent Albums Chart, as well as number 37 on the UK R&B Albums Chart. It features guest appearances from Insight, Percee P, Mr. It was released via Lewis Recordings on March 29, 2005.
With that enlightenment, Edan is no longer an impersonation of his idols, but one of their peers. Beauty and the Beat sounds like a record made by someone who once devoured the catalog and history of his favorite artists, traced their lineage as far back as he could, and has discovered his place in the genealogy. But he's the hip-hop that appeared in the suburbs in the late-80's and shared time with metal and indie rock, when MTV's weekend line-up was "Yo!MTVRaps", "120 Minutes", and "Headbangers Ball", with Public Enemy likely to find time on all three. His lyrical inventiveness and idiosyncratic metaphors place him in a category populated by few.Įdan is hip-hop, without a doubt. Some of it may just be nonsense but most if it is resonant. Nearly every bar is a saturated image of his subconscious put on display to ponder its meaning. But it's more than just his otherworldly assertions.
He "put a nameplate on a asteroid belt."Įdan satirizes the narcissism of hip-hop by being so out-there narcissistic that someone would basically have to say, "I'm the best MC times infinity" to compete. He "does the show on a fireball." He doesn't wear his own clothing line. He "wears the Time Meridian as a wristband." He doesn't grace stages. Even his battle rhymes have a surrealist bent. He's gone from a brainiac prankster to the Borges of rap. The gravity of Edan's lyrics and voice on Beauty and the Beat is perhaps its most surprising element. Reversed drum loops, found sounds, droning feedback, Echoplexed vocals, syrupy strings, and truckloads of bubbling Moog intermingle with Edan's Kane-with-a-cold mic skills to astonishing effect. On the latter half of the album, "Beauty", "Smile", and "Promised Land" are three sample-packed masterpieces that compress the time between '68 and '88. "Rock and Roll" applies Black Sabbath, Velvet Underground, and Talking Heads to create a psychedelic ode to its titular genre, and "Science of the Two" is a tangled mass of Edan and Insight that rivals Run-DMC for seamless vocal interplay. Each song transitions to the next through the ever-present Moog noodlings and shared elements, an effort at a hip-hop long-player and not simply a collection of singles. The nightmarish diptych of "Murder Mystery" and "Torture Chamber"- the latter featuring Percee P's lyrical conveyor belt over the churning bass-line from Pink Floyd's "On the Run"- bleeds into "Making Planets", an organ dirge backing Edan's laidback braggadocio that changes gears into a Crazy Horse-ish Mr. Over a runaway break, Edan pays dues to the Fatback Band on up, providing a syllabus for future pupils. True, many of the names he drops are familiar, but- as many of the mentioned could tell you- respect is the only restitution to them. "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme" is a timeline of the forgotten founders.
One more time before he blows your mind, Edan pays respects to the "true scientists". Like a master mathematician who suddenly sees the pattern in the formula, Edan commences his solution. The song is his epiphany over a 60s jangle and mushrooming Moog effects.
Yes, it's been done before, but not like this. On lead single "I See Colours", Edan declares, "Prince Paul already used this loop/ But I'ma keep it movin'/ And put you up on the scoop." The lyric is a synopsis of Edan's new outlook.
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