Tattoos Magazine: Rich Medina

BUSDRIVER
WITH ABSTRACT RUDE
LIVE AT SANTOS PARTY HOUSE
SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 7:00PM - Buy tickets
NEW ALBUM JHELLI BEAM IN STORES NOW

BUSDRIVER

Regan Farquhar, as nom de plume BUSDRIVER, is known to hip-hop heads as the paradigm of virtuoso lyricism. His elaborate verbal labyrinths communicate the intricacies of the modern psycho-social landscape. On his records, rapid barrages of multi-syllabic rhymes share space with melodic passages resembling Thom Yorke, spontaneous freestyles brimming with wit, and production that marries deft turntablism with psychedelic electro tambours. His newest full-length Jhelli Beam (ANTI-), he brings back the vocal acrobatics that made him famous with some of his more recent forays into experimentation saturated with dark humor.
Busdriver’s roots in hip-hop begin with his father, who was a screenwriter for the cultural milestone Krush Groove. His style fermented at the Good Life Café in Los Angeles, a South Central health food center with workshops frequented by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Lenny Kravitz, with performers including The Pharcyde, Xzibit and the groups that would eventually coalesce as Jurassic 5. With all this hip-hop history under his belt, Busdriver became a master rap technician and an incredibly quick-witted freestyler. One of his signature styles is employing the “vocalese” pioneered by Jazz singers like Jon Hendricks which entails tracing vocal melodies over instrumental lines. Though in lieu of jazz solos Busdriver tends to set his raps to classical art music. His 2002 cut “Imaginary Places” used Bach’s “Minuet and Badinerie Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor” as its source, becoming a breakout single featured in the video game Tony Hawk’s Underground .
Lyrically, Busdriver’s eschews the egotism that pervades at all levels of hip-hop in favor of a self-deprecating sense of humor, and a deep understanding of socio-economic sects including fear-addled conservatives, thug poseurs, and the hipsters that hold sway over an indie rapper’s fate (“They wanted good freestyling/ With sarcasm of Woody Allen/ Their parents own oil rigs, they’re just some spoiled kids whom I was aimed to please”). His response to Barack Obama’s inauguration and the “Yes We Can” movement is a collaboration with Flying Lotus called “Will He,” in which he points out “… still the President’s thought of as a thoughtful coon/ As Hannity peddles the fresh nonsense/ having his every press conference remixed and auto-tuned.” The beats that accompany Busdriver’s tongue-in-cheek yet below-the-belt rhymes range from traditional hip-hop breaks to ambient trance passages and circuit-bending electronic maneuvering. Producers have included Danger Mouse, Prefuse 73, Nobody, Free The Robots, D-styles, Daedalus, Paris Zax, Daddy Kev, and Omid. Aside from rapping alongside Aceyalone, MC Paul Barman, Mikah 9, and Abstract Rude, Busdriver’s repertoire boasts many unconventional collaborations including Z-Trip, Th’ Corn Gangg (The Unicorns side project), and Bianca Casady (CocoRosie).
Jhelli Beam, released June 2009, features Busdriver in top form, refining the staple elements of his sound and incorporating more live instrumentation onto spacey production, much of it courtesy of guitarist AntiMC (who also mans the glockenspiel). John Dietrich of Deerhoof provides guitars and “soundscape” on “Fishy Face,” Nicholas Thorburn (The Unicorns, Islands) lends his vocals on “Happy Insider,” and “Handfuls of Sky” features a three-piece string section. And in full force is Busdriver’s critical insight; turning his gaze to mainstream’s hip-hop stasis: “Your favorite dude who champions every Chicago city song/ From his condominium while brandishing his implausible minigun.” The lead single “Me-Time (with the Pulmonary Palimpsest)” brings back the vocalese, this time using Mozart as source material. On September 15th the New York leg of his tour is kicking it at Santos Party House, an ideal home for hip-hop legends and psychedelic collectives alike, where Busdriver will be completely in his element.

ABSTRACT RUDE

In an age where syrup-soaked thug chants and dance instructions rule the hip-hop landscape, there’s a lot to be said for storytelling skills and a passion for crafting vocal lines. Abstract Rude’s sense of rhythm can be likened to that of an Afro-Latin conga player, leaning towards the polyrhythmic, while his delivery moves seamlessly between straight rapping and melodicism that recalls Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. A veteran of Project Blowed, Abstract Rude is a member of the group Haiku D’etat (wth Mikah 9 and Aceyalone) as well as Abstract Tribe Unique (with DJ Drez and Fat Jack). His new album Rejuvenation (RHYMESAYERS) uses rap as a jump-off point into other musical territories including neo-soul and jazz.
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ALSO ON SEPTEMBER 15, Friday night resident DJ Q-Tip will be releasing Kamaal The Abstract (BATTERY), an album eight years in the making, produced entirely by Tip and the late J Dilla.

“LA Reid didn't know what to do with it; then, three years later, they release Outkast. What Outkast is doing now, those are the kinds of sounds that are on Kamaal the Abstract. Maybe even a little more out. Kamaal was just me, guerrilla.” (HIPHOPDX)