Thus, my connection with Edan was established. A 2001 EP, Sprain Your Tapedeck, came before it but I somehow missed it when it was released. Three years later, his official debut album, Primitive Plus, combined a love of all things “pause tapes,” boom-bap and old-school onto the back of rhymes fashioned of an obsessive focus on performance. Situating himself in the New England city, 1999 would be where Edan would release the comical but infectious “Sing It. A focused student of Rock and Rap music, Edan parlayed his musical chops into a stint at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. But I can try to tell you what I've learned about Edan in my years of supporting his music.Įdan grew up, or at least attended schools, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Trying to explain what Edan was attempting with Beauty And The Beat isn't really fair to anyone, because it really can't be put into any box in my view. I don't find that disappointing or particularly frustrating, but it has made me wonder about my friends, associates and fellow writers along with their tastes. I expect that most people who have picked up Beauty And The Beat after my blathering about it probably didn't even see the huge deal. The fact is, saying such a thing about almost anything prepares it to fail in the eyes of an outsider. But the reality remains that there is no other album or piece of music in my collection that comes close to sparking the lofty words that appear below this paragraph. Ice-grilling backpackers (yes, they're still around) take heed: his output is a welcome breath of dusty fresh air.It is with a measurable amount of hesitation I state that Edan's second studio recording occupies such a high space. Sure, this record is a laugh overall, but don't pass this guy off as some patsy Har Mar Superstar jerkoff. The kickdrum-heavy, snot-nosed rhyming of "Schoolly D Knew the Time" pays homage to the Philadelphia emcee, further exposing the knack Edan has for a dirty, basement production style. Skillz Ferguson) evidences some convincing lyrical ability over a beat that runs the gamut of hip-hop references, flipping up eleven (!) times. At the risk of being a cornball, if you aren't smiling during this song, check your pulse. Over a poppy, Latin guitar, he reads: "Falafels with tahini/ Eggs scrambled with Monterey Jack cheese/ Cream of broccoli soup/ Portobello mushrooms/ Pigs in a blanket/ Mueslix." and so forth. While it's completely dull running down the technical on a song like this, it should be emphasized that Edan has honed in on his craft this clever recreation of a sound long dead in hip-hop is shockingly well-executed.Īctually, let's forget legitimizing- "Beautiful Food" is the funniest shit I've heard in years. Friends", a priceless plea for a new buddy to cool out with, comes complete with a young LL Cool J whisper: "Let's go over and play some video games/ At the arcade you know we'll just hang out/ Yeah, and we'll work on our rhymes/ My metaphors are okay, how are yours?" Adorable! Production-wise, the track is surprisingly nuanced with 808 drum rolls, immersed in timely handclaps. Lif arex92t enough hip-hop cred, Edan makes it abundantly clear on his own records: he knows what he's doing.Ĭombining the hilarity of his Biscuithead 12-inch debut (1999's "Sing It, Shitface") with the nostalgia of the recent Critical Beatdown-era tribute track "Ultra 88", this record is a retardedly good time. If recent outside production credits to Count Bass D and Mr. But by calling this release simple and amusing- and going along with the Golden Age production techniques- Sprain Your Tapedeck shouldn't be dismissed as mere 80s kitsch. Edan has himself mastered the tricks of all Roland's various x0x rhythm machines, putting his talent to good use to create this harmlessly facile, yet just plain fun, six-song (four are new) follow-up EP to the excellent Primitive Plus. Ditching the J-O-B, this rapper/DJ/producer instead bows down to the almighty Tadao Kikumoto, mastermind behind Roland. Evolution does not imply progress, only change, so there's no problem with Boston's triple-threat Edan ignoring this modern technological path.
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