July 9, 1998
With so much Puff Daddy, R&B lite and 80's pop polluting the hip-hop airwaves lately, it's time to revisit the genre's roots. As ever-increasing inconsequential and unjustifiably egotistical rappers dominate the scene, no wonder it's the DJ's who are revitalizing the music. DJ's Krush, Shadow, Q-Bert, the X-ecutioners, Invisibl Skratch Pickelz and the Beat Junkies are some of the art form's best practitioners, and are making some underground hip-hop that deserves wider attention. And DJ-ing is an art form. Born in Jamaica over 25 years ago, this is an established urban folk music that is a wonder to behold - the best DJs have computers for minds and quicksilver in their fingers.
The Beat Junkies formed in 1992, and this album is a compilation of regional singles, with excellent rapping by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip and Kool Keith. The album is a tight fusion of hardcore raps and cool trip-hop beats. Beginning with a cut from the mellow vibe of Massive Attack's "Blue Lines", DJ Babu slices it up, adding sounds and syncopated scratches as the songs morph into one another. There's a slightly irritating "announcer" in between tracks calling out shouts to Babu, but he doesn't affect the music's flow. The emphasis is generally on the vocalists, and the raps are literate, clever and smooth. On track 13, however, DJ Babu steps to the fore for an instrumental, taking an established soul break and folding it in on itself until it's entirely unrecognizable - amazing stuff.
Like early rock and roll, hip-hop is a singles medium, and albums from all but the best artists tend to drag. But with this album, the innovative work of the DJ keeps the album musically coherent, and the strength of the lyricists change up the flow. Let's hope Volume 2 is coming soon.
- Jared O'Connor
quicksilver fingers