by osmosis

Leaving us with 2007’s RoadKillOverCoat, Busdriver seemed uncomfortable. He was out of place somehow, felt discombobulated. The beats on that disc, while thumpers, didn’t really seem to fit the rapper, nor he them. From occasional moments on “Mr. Mistakes” to the production on “The Troglodyte Wins”, the album possesses some successful moments, but nothing that would surpass his entire back catalog either.

On Busdriver’s yet to be released Jhelli Beam, the cleverest of clever emcees, again, doesn’t drastically depart from the body of work behind him. But he still hasn’t found a balance between a straight boom bap and the weirdo rap that he’s so associated with. It’s for this reason that his name isn’t generally included in discussions of who’s the greatest living rapper. But, really, he should be considered. The playful on-mic persona Busdriver’s cultivated, even while touching on relatively serious topics, seems to have disallowed his being looked upon in this manner – ‘conscious,’ yes, but not serious. On each one of his releases, though, there are glimpses of digestible rap tracks that could work to push Busdriver into some realm of mass consumption.

The beats that have been levied upon listeners here come from some Project Blowed folks – Omid being the most prevalent and important. Not only did the L.A. based producer figure the beat for “Me-Time (with the Pulmonary Palimpsest),” but he also contributed to the clutch of three songs here that might constitute the strongest string of tracks that Busdriver’s put together.

Coming towards the end of the disc “World Agape,” “Manchuria,” which features Mikah 9 and “Unsafe Sextet/Gilded Hearts of Booklovers” make up an eleven minute suite that includes each diverse approach to hip hop that Busdriver has in his mixed bag. These three songs, not coincidentally, also seem to sport the most traditional hip hop workouts on Jhelli Beam. And even with the oddly playful production at the beginning of “Unsafe Sextet/Gilded Hearts of Booklovers,” the track turns into an old school work out by songs end.

But even if this relatively understandable trio of songs doesn’t get radio friendly enough for listeners, the lyrical – or writerly – prowess of BD becomes evident immediately. Who else is gonna be able to rhyme discord, orb, gorge, oars, harpsichord, porridge and lore in a verse that almost makes sense? Probably no one.