Thursday, April 10, 2008
Busdriver—RoadKillOvercoat (For fans of Mos Def, Aesop Rock)
These past few weeks, my column has focused pretty heavily on indie and alternative rock offerings, but I have to admit that a lot of you might have more eclectic tastes. Well folks, I have more eclectic tastes, as well. This week, I’d like to point your attention to the ever-burgeoning hip-hop scene. More specifically, please take note of one of the scene’s rising stars, Busdriver. Though still a relatively unknown entity this far from his home state of California, Busdriver definitely has the talent and rhythm necessary to break out, and do so in a big way. Just you wait.
I guess I can understand why he hasn’t hit it big outside of the clubs in San Fransisco and L.A. yet—in one of his lyrics, he describes himself as a “wheatgrass fueled, rehashed, eco-friendly hippy freak,” which seems like a perfect fit for the liberal bastion he currently calls home. His 2007 album RoadKillOvercoat, however, is so well-produced, written and rounded in terms of topics and material that the fact he hasn’t hit it big yet surprises me. Given the recent successes of more introspective and intelligent hip-hop artists like Black Star (you might not know them by name, but you’ve heard their song “Definition” more than once at the bars) and Gym Class Heroes, I’d actually be willing to bet that Busdriver will soon join the ranks of hip-hop superstars.
RoadKillOvercoat features some of the catchiest verses of the myriad of albums I’ve listened to this semester, and on more than one occasion in the past few weeks, I’ve found its songs littered throughout the mental soundtrack that rears its head whenever I’m bored in class—so, um, a lot. In addition to that, the masterfully produced album uses instruments and loops not usually associated with this type of music, such as pianos, violins, synthesized flutes and what sounds to me like a Theremin (the quasi-instrument used to make that eerie sound in old horror movies) to create a sound that is both odd—in a good way—yet sufficiently comfortable in its flaunting of hip-hop rules.
What really separates Busdriver from the pack, however, is a lyrical style that reaches its peak in this album. Described by many fans as an “abstract rapper,” Busdriver’s lyrics tend to convey a meaningful message over the course of unusually long, mostly fast-paced verses. A quick look at the lyrics of an average hip-hop or rap song tends to reveal a simple formula that looks something like the following: short verse, chorus, same short verse, chorus, same short verse, et cetera. Usually these songs have a word count of about 150 or 200. A quick look at Busdriver’s lyrics, however, reveals something wholly different. The best way to explain each song is as a self-contained short story that may or may not have a discernable chorus, but will definitely measure in at more than 1,000 words. And given the word count, Busdriver’s ability to compress the words into 3 minutes and 20 or so seconds without compromising understandability is even more amazing. Just like the rest of the album.
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