Saturday, March 15, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Benny Beyond / The Archaeologist “Weird is Rad” (digdugDIY)


                Ever since Dr. Dre got together with Snoop Dogg, people having been doing the hip hop team ups.  Okay, so there was probably one before that.  Maybe there was even one before that, but I don’t want to date myself too much here and want to keep this simple.   It ain’t nuthin’ but a g thang.

                Benny Beyond and The Archaeologist come together to create a unique blend of hip hop that straddles the stripper pole between something true to the game and something not quite hip hop.   On one hand, this can sound like dance beats, with synth and all of that.  It has those instrumental moments too.

                In this way, it reminds me a little bit of PM Dawn only not.   It may not be 100% like PM Dawn, but it does have a close enough quality or at least song structure that it made me think of them instantly.    But that also comes with the straight up rap, which reminds me of Nas and if I was into the popular rap more I might also dare to say Drake, but I won’t go there just yet.

                This is an intelligent style of hip hop, and I’m not saying that all music isn’t smart on some level, but it’s not the lyrical feel of, say, Busta Rhymes’ “Woo-Haa” or DMX for some reason.  In terms of overall vibes, this cassette reminds me most of A Tribe Called Quest, and not just because Q-Tip is such a well educated man either.

                Several years ago, one of my musical friends posed a question on Facebook:  What was the first song you memorized all of the lyrics to?   My answer:  “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest.  I had that song on cassingle, watched the video on Mtv nearly every morning before school and eventually got the full length release on cassette as well.   So to hold this in the same light as Tribe is a pretty accomplishment in my cassette loving eyes. 








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