Busdriver is almost close to normal hip-hop, but he strives to be an oddball. On his third disc, Fear of a Black Tangent, this LA emcee sets his rhyme-o-meter in overdrive while resurrecting Frank Zappa, rapping with the rapid precision of a bebop saxophonist to grooves that are beat-based but all over the map. Formally, it's basic beat-and-loop pop, but amidst the wackiness, there's no sonic center other than Busdriver's witty hyperactivity. His flow is elastic, and he raps so fast that you can often hear him inhale between verses. His ironic, nerdy twist on Public Enemy's planetary album title isn't merely the beginning; rather, it points to complex identity issues and self-doubt. Busdriver feels torn over his lack of music-business success. He's envious, but that won't stop him from violating hip-hop's playbook with tricks like sampling Joan Baez. "Why did I choose to do weird shit / I steered my career off a cliff in a flaming stunt car" he laments on one track, while sarcastically noting on another cut that "I'll sell more records in France." Busdriver's outsider's stance is amusing yet also confusing. But he finally makes it clear on "Lefty's Lament" that he's really against narrow-mindedness, mocking the standard warm and fuzzy sensitive-rap finale and casting the terms "underground" and "fascist" as limiting epithets alongside "towel-head" and "dirty hippie." - Metroactive |