| Busdriver is back a healthy three years after RoadKillOvercoat! It was easily one of my favorite albums of 2006, but I do recall some fans calling it a little too weird even for Busdriver! Of course, most of that kind of talk was isolated and the album was well reviewed, and I am happy to say that Jhelli Beam is a welcome return to his familiar breath-defying flows and humor. Busdriver's not out to re-define underground hip hop, as reviewers on the outside looking in would lead you to believe, no, Busdriver is just doing what he does best, and that is expressing himself through the music that just so happens to be hip hop and I wouldn't have it any other way. He even pokes fun at the labels he is often given as an "art-rapper" or "hipster rap", and that kind of awareness of how ridiculous some of the praise he has received by people who would otherwise never give the rest of hip hop a chance outside of his bizarreness is a wonderful inside joke that the listener is in on. Featuring production by Nobody, Daedelus and Omid with guest appearances by Nocando and Myka 9! | |
