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MH-266 Thavius Beck - Dialogue  On Dialogue, his third full-length for Mush Records, Thavius Beck continues to push the boundaries of hip-hop beatmaking, grounding lo-fi digital drum kits in icy layers of synths and sliced up samples. Fresh off of production duties on Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust album with Trent Reznor, Beck’s work on Dialogue is razor sharp. This release also finds Thavius spending more time in front of the mic, delivering the type of rhymes that originally gained him notoriety as a member of Global Phlowtations. The consummate iconoclast, Beck cleverly critiques many of America's ills with a dry, satirical wit that never falls into preachiness. With each passing release, Thavius Beck continues to prove that the only musical boundaries he sees are ones he has already left behind. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| It's an impressive illustration of what hip-hop can and should be:adventurous, demanding and energising. Will.I.Am take note. - Clash / One of the Best Albums of 2009. - LA City Beat / His flow is as unremarkable as his conscious, anti-mainstream message. You can hear flickers of a possible new hip-hop.- The Wire / Buy it, play it, freak yourself out. - The Skinny |
| Reviews | |
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| The L.A. underground hip-hop scene has spawned a great many gifted lyricists and yet somehow they seem to consistently find it difficult to translate their skills into major-league sales. Having come out of the Project Blowed open-mic workshop Thavius beck has seen some underground success recording under the name Adlib. However, with a change of name came a shift of focus as Beck began to look more closely at the production side of the game. All too often it seems the most gifted lyricists overlook the beats as they focus in ever-increasing detail at their lyrical content. Thavius Beck is certainly confident of his rhyme skills as his is the only voice that is heard on the album (samples aside) but he has upped the ante on his compatriots by bringing a real bump to this 15-track release. Whether it is the off-kilter hustle and flow of "Burn" or the bass-heavy ride of "Go!" Thavius seems intent on matching the fury of his lyrics with the production. But, before you get carried away with thoughts of Beck dropping it like Puff it must be stated that this is still a very underground collection. Certainly not one to drop straight into the mainstream arena Beck's Dialogue is still a step up from the heavy rhymes and tedious beats of so many other so-called underground rappers. What is clear through the sonic landscape is the scope of Beck's musical influneces, with Bomb-Squad ferocity Beck incorporates elements of dance music, funk, drum and bass and rock into the mix to create something unique, comfortingly familiar, and yet forward-thinking at the same time to underpin his lyrical flair. The synth-pop hip-hop feel of the instrumental "Painful" is a fine case in point as Beck delivers a melding of styles. Dialogue is not straight hip-hop as the mainstream would have it but is likely to find support across genre boundaries. Basically, check it out... - Grind Mode Connect |
